Samsara
by AutumnXMidnight
Summary: Taro Yamamoto is filled with despair when his lifelong friend dies. He doesn't have much time to get over it when weird things start happening... Sequel to 'Held Loosely'
1. Where My Life Really Begins

**Chapter One: Where My Life Really Begins, ****哪里我的生活真正开始**

Author's Note: Hey everybody! I'm back with the first chapter of "Samsara", the sequel to "Held Loosely", after tons of planning, writing, and beating up my computer in frustration (but mostly the last one). Please enjoy and try to keep in mind that the story might seem to get off on a slow start.

--AutumnXMidnight

_"God grant me the serenity to accept those things I cannot change, the strength to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." --The Serenity Prayer_

I carefully poured the test tube's contents into a beaker on the hot plate sat at my desk, allowing the solution to slowly dribble in. _I've gotta make sure it's just the right amount…_"Taro! You're going to be late for school!" Mom yelled from the kitchen over the clinking and clanking of coffee cups and cereal bowls. "It doesn't kill you to be a little late!" I yelled back, returning my attention back to my beaker and test tubes.

"You'll have to do whatever you're doing when you get home. Your breakfast's getting cold!" Mom yelled back. I sighed heavily and unplugged the hot plate that was boiling the mixture. "I'll have to re-heat it when I get back, and that'll take an hour…" I grumbled to myself while I clumsily slipped on my tie, half-tripping down the stairs.

"What're you doing up there?" Mom asked suspiciously as I snarfed down a biscuit and gathered my books into my backpack.

"Um…nuffing." I mumbled through a mouthful of biscuit, slinging my backpack straps over my shoulders.

"Sure didn't sound like _nothing_…" Dad mumbled behind the newspaper from his seat at the table.

"Does it have anything to do with stuff that can explode?" Mom asked tiredly.

"…Only if it's heated over ninety-three degrees Celsius. The experiment asks that it's at precisely eighty." I grumbled and brusquely strode out the front door before she could ask any other incriminating questions. Tomo sat on the steps staring up blankly at the cloudless sky. "Hey Tomo, sorry I'm late…" I took a seat next to him on the steps.

"Where's Nozomi at?" I asked, noticing the empty spot on the steps to his left.

"Last I saw she was fussing over her hair," Tomo crinkled his nose, "I suppose she won't ever learn that she always looks the same no matter how she puts it up."

"Not really…" I blushed, looking down at the steps.

"I still think it's funny how you swoon over her. She's definitely no prize."

"She's your _sister_. And um, you guys are twins, so when you say _she's_ ugly…"

"At least I can admit that I won't be entering any beauty contests in my lifetime."

"You got that right." Nozomi chuckled from behind us.

"N-Nozomi!" I stuttered. _I hope she didn't hear--!_

"Are you two coming or not?" she raised her eyebrow and started walking down the sidewalk. Tomo and I looked at each other, gave the other an indifferent shrug, and ran to catch up with Nozomi.

**Study Hall, ****研究大厅**

'Let me be the first to congratulate you on purchasing your very own personal journal! So how do you feel? Excited? Anxious?'

_Neither, since I only bought this journal to get some extra credit in English class._

'Let's get to know you better: tell us all about yourself!'

_I'm Taro Yamamoto, a senior at Takashima High School and I can already see that I'm going to hate doing this assignment. _

'Great! Now tell us your hobbies!'

_RPGs, drawing, riding my motorcycle, and pretty much anything that can explode, fizz, or burble. _

'How interesting! How do others describe you?'

_Lanky, unusual, brainy._

'Do you have any siblings?'

_I'm fortunate enough to be an only child._

'What are your parents like?'

_My father is Japanese and my mother's a Japanese-American hybrid, so to speak. Dad's a genetic researcher and he also likes a good fencing match every now and then. Mom is very musically inclined and writes songs and jingles for commercials, that sort of thing. Fortunately I inherited my father's knack for science rather than nimble guitar-strumming fingers._

'Let's hear about your best friend!'

_His name's Tomo Matsu and right now he's hovering over me while laughing his head off that I'm actually this desperate for extra credit. We've known each other our entire lives since our parents were buds in high school and also live next door to each other._

'Name an interesting fact about your best friend.'

_There are quite a few 'interesting' things about Tomo, most of which end him (and me) up in the hospital or detention. _

'Does your best friend have any siblings?'

_He has a twin sister, Nozomi. She's ultra-popular and most people can't believe that she and Tomo are even related. We don't really hang out that much but I kinda' wish we did…Although I'm sure her boyfriend wouldn't like it._

'Now let's dive a little deeper. Do you have any secret crushes?'

_Do you honestly expect me to answer that? I can't believe I actually PAID for this book…_

'C'mon! You know you do!'

_I know I do, I'm just not going to tell some creepy book something like that. Especially a creepy book that my teacher's going to be reading…_

'Don't worry, I won't tell anyone! Speaking of which, do you have any secrets?'

_Yes, I secretly like to dress up like a koi fish and jump out of dark alleys and scare little children before I devour their spleens._

"Taro eats little kids' spleens!" Tomo yelled at the top of his lungs so every person in study hall turned their head in our direction.

"Tomo, shut up! You're going to get us kicked out of study hall! …_Again!"_ I whispered harshly to Tomo, who was leisurely leaning back in his seat staring at the ceiling.

"I'm trying to get banned." He grinned. It was pretty hard to get kicked out of study hall since the teacher that ran it was either never there or taking a nap at his desk.

"And I'm trying to work on something, so could you go pester someone else with your shenanigans? I have to get this done by Wednesday or Mrs. Hagasawa will fail me for the semester!" I hissed over my shoulder. Tomo waved his hand lazily.

"I'm making a 98 in there; how can 'Taro the Supercomputer' be _failing_? I'm supposed to be the nitwit; you're making me look bad. Next thing I know people'll start giving me geeky nicknames!"

"So if you don't want that to happen you'd better let me finish this idiotic assignment."

"I still don't get it though." Tomo sighed.

"Science and math are my strong points; English is a completely different story."

"But your Mom's American, so shouldn't you --?"

"In my seventeen years I've only heard her speak English when she's on the phone with my grandparents. Any other time she speaks Japanese."

"Oh…..I'm bored." Tomo yawned.

"Great. Take a nap or something…" I mumbled, returning to my journal.

"I'll choose the 'or something' option…" Tomo giggled and stealthily crept toward the teacher's desk where the teacher was busily napping. Tomo rose off the floor, grinning menacingly. I shook my head and prepared myself for the utter chaos that was sure to follow.

He tapped the teacher's neck swiftly, then withdrew under the desk. The teacher snorted and jumped awake, looking around bewildered. He grumbled something under his breath then leaned back in his chair, falling fast asleep. Tomo snaked from the desk and poked him on the chin, rapidly retreating. The teacher flinched awake, glancing around, knowing something was fishy. He sunk back into false sleep and waited for his hunter to strike again. Sure enough, Tomo went for a third strike, this time getting his arm caught by the teacher. "TOMO!" the teacher bellowed as he yanked Tomo out from under the desk.

"Hey teach." Tomo smiled coolly.

"_WHAT IN HEAVEN'S NAME ARE YOU DOING_?"

"Oh, it's not in the name of heaven--."

"_What are you doing?_" the teacher grumbled.

"Well, to put it eloquently: as a student I felt that you, as a teacher, were lacking in something, so I came to investigate to find out what that something is."

"And…?"

"I found out that that something is a brain." Tomo stated. "Out in the hall. Now!" the teacher yelled. I tried to cover my smile at Tomo's demise. _Tomo's such an idiot…_"You think this is funny? Fine! You, too, Mr. Yamamoto!" the teacher roared.

"Gee, Tomo. Thanks for getting me permanently banned from study hall." I grunted while trying to walk down the sidewalk and write in my journal at the same time.

"Any time, buddy." Tomo patted my shoulder. Nozomi followed closely behind Tomo shaking her head sadly.

"How do you get kicked out of _study hall_? I thought the teacher in there was a major pushover."

"It took the guy long enough! I've been trying to get banned since I was a freshman." Tomo crossed his arms at his chest.

"What did you do, exactly?" Nozomi crinkled her brow.

"He hid under the teacher's desk and kept poking him. I laughed so the teacher thought we were in it together." I grunted; Tomo beamed proudly. Nozomi shook her head again.

"Only you would come up with something so asinine. So what are Laverne and Shirley going to do instead of study hall?"

"Probably sit outside or something…that is, if Tomo can _behave_ himself." I glared at Tomo's mischievous sneer.

"You should've entertained me. Bad things happen when I get bored."

"That's really hard to do when you have the attention span of a squirrel!"

"Tish tosh applesauce." Tomo waved his hand. "Hey! That reminds me! There's a race tonight over in that field by the playground!"

"What do squirrels have to do with--?"

"Taro! We should enter! It would be so _awesome_!" Tomo smiled brightly with a frightening glint in his eye.

"What kind of race is it?"

"A _car _race, what else?"

"No thanks. I'm more of a motorcycle guy."

"That's just it! We could enter you in the race with your motorcycle!"

"A few problems. One: My motorcycle's in the shop until tomorrow. Two: Even if it weren't in the shop, there's no way that I'd enter it in a race."

"Why not?"

"There's a strong probability that it'd crash and end up in the shop…again."

"No it wouldn't; you're an awesome driver… Which is exactly why we should enter you and take the prize money!"

"Ohhhh. You want the _money_. Wait—Tomo, _you're_ not thinking about entering the race, are you?" I grabbed his shoulder.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well…"

"What?"

"You're a sucky driver." Nozomi blurted.

"Am not!" he argued.

"Yes you are." Nozomi and I said together.

"Am I _really_? Then why don't you come to the race tonight and see me dominate the competition! That ought to make you both shut up."

"Is this even a legitimate race?" Nozomi asked.

"Yeah, it's a race, all right."

"Let me rephrase the question: is the race _legal_?"

"…Not really."

"Tomo …" I groaned.

"What? You're acting like everyone there is going to be a drug dealer!"

"No, it's just that these kinds of races are really risky. People don't tend to play fair…" I bit my lip.

"Whatever," Tomo put his hand in my face, "This conversation is over. Come if you're in. Midnight."

"And no telling any parents!" He added after seeing Nozomi's oh-I'm-gonna-tell-on-you expression. With that he strode farther down the sidewalk refusing to look back at us. Nozomi held her books to her chest and looked down at the sidewalk in worry. _Should I say something? What if I stutter again…? What to do…What to do…_

"Taro." I snapped out of my daze and faced her, trying my hardest not to blush like an idiot. "This has trouble written all over it…I don't want to go, but I'm afraid Tomo's going to get himself into trouble. If I go, will you go with me? He actually listens to you." Nozomi asked, her eyes wide and pleading.

_How can I say no when she makes that face?_

**Midnight, ****午夜**

I perilously teetered on the windowsill, looking down at the damp concrete and swallowing the ball of fear building in my throat. _Okay…If I slowly climb down the bricks maybe I won't snap my spine…_ I swung myself down and began to clumsily climb down the slippery brick wall. _Halfway there…_

"Taro! Over here!" Nozomi called from the dark depths of the alleyway, catching me completely off guard. "GAAH!" My hand slipped on the wall's moist surface and fell down, landing flat on my face, narrowly missing some garbage cans. Nozomi couldn't help but laugh and jogged to my painful position on the sidewalk.

"Are you okay?" she giggled, grabbing my arm and hoisting me up.

"I-I'm f-f-f-fine." I stuttered, brushing myself off and silently thanking the darkness for hiding my blushing cheeks.

"Tomo left a little while ago; we'll have to hurry if we want to get there on time." Nozomi glanced at her watch and started to run towards the park, motioning for me to follow. After not even five minutes of running around in the shadows behind Nozomi, I deeply regretted my sedentary lifestyle. I was both relieved and worried at the sight of the field. Nozomi squinted her eyes and scanned the thick crowd of rowdy teenagers for Tomo. "Even when we find him, I doubt he's going to listen to a thing we have to say." I muttered as she led me through the crowd to a car parked amidst the flock of shouting people. Tomo leaned against the car's driver side door, calm as ever as he carried on a conversation with a girl in an unusually short skirt. Nozomi shoved the girl out of the way and put her hands on her hips as she glared at Tomo.

"You're going to break your neck if you go through with this!"

"Shows what you guys know." Tomo muttered coolly. The crowd began to back away and formed a semi-circle around the cars.

"There's a strong likelihood that you'll have an accident! _Please,_ just listen to us for _once_." I tried to persuade him; Tomo ruffled my brown hair and shook his head sadly.

"Back off from the car, losers." Tomo waved us back as he climbed into the driver's seat and gave us a thumbs-up.

"Tomo!" Nozomi screamed while I tried to drag her into the crowd to keep from getting run over. Tomo revved the engine as a girl strutted in front of the line of cars with a checkered flag in her right hand. She raised the flag with a flourish and brought it down swiftly, shouting, "GO!"

Nozomi put her face in her hands and moaned. I placed my hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry." I tried to smile, even though I knew full well that something bad was bound to happen. The cars rocketed away, their headlights like buzzing swarms of fireflies in the dark. "I can't tell which one is Tomo…" I muttered to Nozomi.

"The one that's weaving side to side." Nozomi observed, shaking her head and biting her lip anxiously. An orange Mustang behind the weaving car thrusted forward and began ramming it in the side.

"_Tomo!_" Nozomi screamed. The Mustang plunged again and somehow managed to tip Tomo's car onto its side; the sickening sound of peeling metal rang through the air, eliciting wild roars from the crowd around us. Nozomi clung onto my arm with a death grip as she stared at the car in transfixed horror.

**Hospital,** **医院 **

"Can we see him now?" I asked the receptionist quietly. Nozomi stood next to me, blankly staring at the receptionist's desk and breathing heavily. The receptionist considered it for a moment, and then solemnly nodded.

"He's unconscious right now, but go on ahead if you want." She shooed us away impatiently. I gently took Nozomi's arm and led her down the long bleach-white hallway leading from the Waiting Room. "He should be at the end of the hall." I said to her; she nodded slowly. We came to the door with a clipboard hanging on it that had '_Matsu, Tomo_' written on it. I turned the knob and walked in, trying to hold in a terrified gasp at the sight of Tomo. He was covered in blood from head to foot and had all sorts of wires and contraptions had been hooked up to him. It looked as if he'd cracked his skull and the doctors had just stapled his head together for a quick fix; small droplets of blood trickled from the wound and stained his pillow. Nozomi let out a discordant wail as she flung herself at his side and began to sob as she put her hand on his. I shut my eyes to block out the nightmare playing before me, wanting to rewind everything back to this morning. "Tomo…" Nozomi whispered, her tears dropping onto Tomo's hand. I reached for her and tenderly helped her up into a chair sitting in the room's corner. "This is all my fault!" Nozomi wailed, her shoulders shaking with each heavy sob.

"Nozomi," I shook her back to reality, "This isn't your fault. It isn't _anyone's_ fault. It was all just an _accident_. All right?" Nozomi lowered her head and looked at the floor in shame. "_All right?_" I repeated, forcing her to look up. She nodded sadly and tried to swallow back the hurricane of tears brewing behind her eyes. "Your Mom and Dad should be here pretty soon." I added, taking a seat next to her and trying to smile, even though it was a pretty inappropriate time to be happy. I looked back at Tomo in his pitifully horrendous state. He had been knocked unconscious immediately when his car tipped and the doctors said he'd suffered massive damage to the head (you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out after taking one look at him). If he did make it through this he'd probably lose a large amount of memory, and possibly wouldn't remember anything about himself: Nozomi, his parents…or me. _No. Tomo will remember me… He just has to. I mean, we're best friends…_ The realization that Tomo might not know who I was was too much to think about. _Stop. Stop thinking like that. Just focus on what's happening right now._

The door banged open as four people rushed in, one of which was crying hysterically. "Mom! Dad!" Nozomi cried, rushing to her parents and embracing them.

"Taro!" Mom said with relief overflowing in her voice as she and Dad rushed to me.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"What else could we have done after hearing what happened to Tomo and found you missing?" Dad pulled me into a hug.

"What happened?" Tomo's Dad remarked, looking over Tomo

"He was racing. His car flipped." Nozomi sniffled.

"Why…Why didn't you try to stop him?" Tomo's Mom trembled as stroked Tomo's cheek with the back of her hand.

"We did, Mrs. Matsu…He just…didn't listen." I sighed. "Well there's nothing we can do right now. We might as well try to rest until he wakes up." Mr. Matsu said, taking his wife's hand and gently settling her into a seat.

The six of us sat in uneasy silence, desperate for some sign that Tomo would be waking up soon. A doctor walked in, breaking the silence and bringing hope into the room with him. He read the clipboard from the door and creased his brow in thought.

"O-kay… Let's see what we have here." The doctor said cheerfully, walking to where Tomo laid, viewing his statistics on the machines.

"How is he?" Nozomi asked him quietly. The doctor looked up and slapped his head.

"I've forgotten my manners! I'm Haru Ishikawa; I specialize in vehicle-related injuries. As for how he's doing, we're about to find out…" Dr. Ishikawa tinkered with several of the machines and shook his head several times.

"Are you his family?" Dr. Ishikawa asked suddenly.

"Yes." Mr. Matsu stood.

"I see. Well…his condition isn't that good. It looks like in addition to that head injury and broken leg, he's got some internal bleeding as well. I'll call my team to come stabilize the bleeding." He said, reaching for a cellphone from his pocket. "Hey, it's me. We've got medium internal bleeding in Room 166…I don't _care_ if it's your break time, get down here!" Dr. Ishikawa turned to us, "They'll be here in a few minutes. I wouldn't worry too much; he's not bleeding that heavily."

In a few minutes a crowd of people pushing a cart full of equipment came in and started to attach all sorts of gadgets to Tomo. We were pushed out of the way and were unable to see Tomo through the crowd of people fussing over him. An IV was hooked up and he was administered about three shots into his arm, for what, I couldn't guess.

"The shots should take about a little less than an hour to repair his veins." Dr. Ishikawa told us. We all breathed a little easier knowing that Tomo would live through this ordeal. The team loaded their gear onto the cart again and left as swiftly as they had come. Dr. Ishikawa flashed a smile at us and followed his team out the door. I sighed and went to Tomo's side, just to watch him. His eyelids flickered slightly; I held my breath. His eyelids lifted sleepily and Tomo stared at me. _Please remember me. Please remember me._ "Hey Tomo." I smiled awkwardly. Everyone sprung from their chairs and crowded around the now-conscious Tomo. Tomo seemed confused as he looked from one face to another. His mouth parted slightly and he grunted, "That must've been one heck of a party; I've got the biggest headache…"

Nozomi and her mother started to cry and spoke comforting words to Tomo. "You scared us to death!" Nozomi said, half happily and half angrily, crying over Tomo. Tomo grinned crookedly and laughed airily. "You should've listened to us." I scolded him, trying to hold back my tears of relief.


	2. Our Promise

**Chapter Two: Our Promise,** **我们的诺言 **

"_I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway...you rarely win, but sometimes you do."—To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee_

I sat at Tomo's side, yawning widely. Everyone had gone down to the cafeteria to get some breakfast; I wasn't feeling that hungry, so I decided to stay with Tomo, knowing he'd probably get lonely with everyone gone.

"Hey, Taro…." Tomo beckoned weakly.

"Hm?" I leaned down.

"I want you to promise me something."

"'Promise me something'? You're making it sound like you're dying." I chuckled, stopping after seeing that Tomo was completely serious. "Tomo…"

"Promise me."

"…What?" I asked softly.

"Promise me that you'll take care of Nozomi. And someday I want you to tell Nozomi how you feel about her. There isn't a guy in the world that cares about her more than you do, not even that good-for-nothing boyfriend of hers."

"Tomo, please don't say that--." I pleaded.

"Shh. I want you to promise."

"But--!"

"Promise!" Tomo hissed.

"I…promise." I gulped.

"Good." Tomo seemed satisfied.

"Tomo," I swallowed, "The doctor said you're going to be fine."

Tomo chuckled bitterly. "You don't give me enough credit…… Hey, why don't you tell me what we did in study hall yesterday."

"Um…o-okay. I was trying to do my assignment, and then you shrieked at the top of your lungs that I eat little kids' spleens. Then you got 'bored' and decided to hide under the teacher's desk and poke him. And now we're officially banned from study hall." I recounted. Tomo sighed sharply and his eyelids lowered slightly. "I still can't believe you did that. You're such a nerd…" I stopped and stared down at Tomo's face in panic and realized that he wasn't breathing. "Tomo…Tomo! Tomo, wake up!" I grabbed Tomo's shoulders and shook him furiously. He still wouldn't wake up. My body turned to jelly as reality bulldozed into my chest. _No… **NO!**_

"Wake up, dammit!" I repeated. _Help…Someone help!_ I sprinted out of the room and into the hallway, searching madly for someone, anyone, that could bring him back. Dr. Ishikawa was at the middle of the hallway casually chatting with one of his associates. I seized him by his arm with a furious grip. "What the devil--?"

"Please, you have to do something!" I dragged him down the hall with every ounce of energy I could muster.

"What's this all about?" Dr. Ishikawa asked wildly. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Tomo's glazed expression. He rushed to his side, checking his wrist and neck for a pulse. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed sadly.

"Don't just stand there! There has to be something you can do!" I shouted, steaming tears streaking my face. Dr. Ishikawa gently shook his head and patted my shoulder sympathetically. "I'm sorry. There isn't anything I can do." He said solemnly. I clutched my fists, the terror still striking me with its full force. I tried to speak, but it just came out as an agitated scream as I felt myself fall on my knees. Dr. Ishikawa pulled me up and thrust me into a chair.

"Please try to calm down. I'll get the morgue team…" he muttered to himself. "Where is everyone else?" he asked, noticing their absence.

"Cafeteria." I rasped. _What are they going to think?_ The doctor nodded. "I'll send someone to get them, then. Just hang in there, okay?" he said gently, leaving the room and yelling into his cellphone.

_What am I going to do?_

**A Day Later, ****一天以后**

I laid on my bed with my face smothered in my pillow, willing myself to hold in all the explosive emotions ramming themselves against my ribcage. I was still stuck in my foggy dream world; wishing for reality to quietly ebb away. For a while I'd forgotten everything that had happened, but in an instant it all came flooding back into my memory, drowning me in hopelessness. _I refuse to cry. I'm not going to cry. I won't cry._ _I won't, I won't, I won't, I won't…_

I gave up and let the tears flow down my face in thick streams. _Tomo. Tomo, please come back! _I squeezed my eyes tighter and felt my shoulders start to heave with every strained breath I took between sobs. _Please! I know you want to come back! Please don't leave me alone…_ I felt myself begin to drown in my tears while my shoulders kept heaving as I tried to get a gulp of air. _I don't want to be alone!_ I clenched my pillow in desperation, the misery pinning me down and crushing the air out of my lungs. _I can't be…alone._ The room started to blot as if it were a watercolor painting that had just been splashed with water. _I-I can't breathe! Tomo! Tomo, help!_ My head began to throb insanely as the room blacked out of sight. _Tomo!_

I was drifting in a mist of cold darkness. All that I could see was the mysterious haze that seemed to be holding me up. My hair and clothes floated upwards and danced serenely in the nonexistent wind. _Where am I? Am I dead? _I shut my eyes and reached upwards to feel the fog's strange chill. _What is this? It's not fog…_

Somewhere far above a cat-like yowl penetrated through the suffocating dark and snapped me back from my thoughts. _What? _Soft white light filtered through the fog. The light grew steadily closer until I could make out the outline of some sort of animal made out of shafts of light. The animal hovered right above my face and looked upon me with interest. _Is that a…cat?_ The cat stretched lazily and stared at me a little longer. _Go away! Shoo!_ The cat pounced onto my chest and kneaded its claws on my shirt, purring contentedly. _What? What do you want?_ I tried to move my arms to push the cat off, but they instead just floated sleepily at my side. The cat looked at my face again and its expression softened into a sympathetic grin. _Holy crap! It's the Cheshire cat! _The cat lowered its head and slipped into my torso as if it were a ghost, sending flares of scorching pain coursing through my body in paralyzing jolts._ W-What's happening? It feels like someone set me on fire! Stop! Make it stop! _My body still refused to move, so I continued to drift, wincing at the fiery pain stabbing into my skin. My head began to reel as I silently fell down into the void of dark.

"Taro? Taro, are you all right?" Mom shook me awake.

"W-wha…?" I sleepily opened my eyes and tried to sit up. An overwhelming surge of nausea struck me, forcing me back down.

"God, Taro. You had me really worried." Mom sighed. I rubbed my aching head and tried to remember what had happened. _I was crying…then I was in that dark place…And then that cat…hurt me?_

"The cat!" I croaked, looking around my room wild-eyed for the strange cat creature.

"Huh? Taro, there isn't a cat in here, sweetie. I think you need another nap." Mom snatched my blanket off the floor and pulled the covers over me tightly.

"_Another_ nap? How long have I been asleep?" I gawked at the clock on my night table that read _8:30 P.M._

"A pretty long time. Just try to get some rest, 'kay? You've had a pretty rough time." Mom grinned and closed the door behind her.

_Was it…Was it all just a dream? I could have sworn it really happened…_ I crinkled my brow as my inner scientist scolded the rest of me. _No, that's completely ridiculous. It's all a scientific impossibility. Levitating in nothingness? Complete stupidity. I must have fallen asleep and had a weird dream. There, now everything's explained._ Even though it made sense that it was probably just a dream, my mind wouldn't let me forget how real everything had seemed.

**Monday Morning, ****星期一上午**

"Taro, are you sure you want to go to school? You can wait a little while, you know." Dad offered anxiously as I gathered my books into my bag.

"I can't afford to get behind. Trust me, I'll be fine." I muttered quietly, grabbing my motorcycle keys from the key rack in the kitchen.

"I know, but…"

"_I'll be fine_." I repeated, getting ready to leave.

"Okay," Dad gave in, "But if you need me, I'm only a phone call away."

"'Bye Dad." I mumbled as I stepped out the door, slipping on my black leather jacket. _School should provide plenty meaningless distractions to keep my mind busy. I wonder if I should offer Nozomi a ride? …No, she's probably not coming to school today._ I sighed as I fired up my motorcycle and pushed back the kickstand. "Let's go, Kisho." I patted my motorcycle (yes I named my motorcycle) and took off down the road.

-

Author's Corner:

Whoo! I decided that it would be cool to start an 'Author's Corner' where I could tell you guys cool facts about the stories instead of posting them in a separate chapter and all that junk. It also saves room for the tedious little Author's notes at the beginning and I put it at the end so you could just skip over it more easily if you're sick of reading.

Soooo…the topic for this chapter is…NAMES! Believe it or not, yes, there is a reason that I give my characters the names they have! For example, Taro means 'first-born male'. Tomo means 'a twin', Nozomi means 'hope', Kiyoshi means 'the quiet one', and Komori means 'bat'. Oh and Kisho means 'one who knows his own mind'; I named it that since Taro has a lot of sentimental value in Kisho and it almost seems like a friend that knows everything about him, sort of like an extension of his own mind. Tune in for another edition of 'Author's Corner'! ((Imaginary theme music))


	3. When Did I Get a Tattoo?

**Chapter Three: When did I get a Tattoo, ****我什么时候得到纹身？**

_"It's all very well to read about sorrows and imagine yourself living through them heroically, but it's not so nice when you really come to have them, is it?" –Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables_

I had been wrong about school getting my mind off things. Everywhere I went I could feel the stares of classmates and teachers drilling into my back. After the bell had rung to end third period, Mrs. Hagasawa caught me by the arm before I could run out. "Taro, could you do me a favor?" she asked, her voice dripping with sweetness.

"Sure." I grumbled. _C'mon! I'm gonna be late for P.E.!_

"Could you take these assignments to Nozomi? She's probably going to be out for the week, so I gathered up all the notes and worksheets." Mrs. Hagasawa dumped a thick stack of papers into my hands.

"Right." I muttered, going for the door.

"Also…I…I'm so sorry about what happened…with Tomo." She whispered.

"So am I." I whispered back before jetting out of the room to avoid any further conversation. _So much for school being a safe haven._

I just barely scurried into the gym as the bell rang, pulling my musty P.E. t-shirt over my head. The coach glared at me as I took my place in the cluster of people sitting on the floor. He cleared his throat and bellowed, "Today we'll be working on flexibility again. Pair up in threes and take turns doing the designated stretches. And like I explained last time, splits are_ not_ required."

Naturally I paired up with the other wimpy guys in the class to avoid being personally victimized by jocks. Fujita and Akira naturally wandered to me, groaning and complaining about the assignment. "What is the point in this? I'm going to be a _symbologist_ when I grow up, not a stupid Olympic gymnast!" Fujita complained, adjusting his glasses. I always liked to think that they were two giant magnifying glasses slapped into frames.

"But at the moment it affects our GPA, so whether we like it or not we have to do it." I replied sleepily.

"Right then. I vote Taro goes first." Akira raised his hand.

"I forward the motion." Fujita raised his.

"That's not fair!"

"Democracy isn't fair. Now go. We promise not to push you down too far." Akira snickered.

"You guys suck." I shook my head as I pulled my arm behind my head for the first stretch. I put my legs together and leaned down in an attempt to touch my toes.

"You're not that flexible, are you?" Akira laughed pitifully and pushed on my back to make me go down farther. "Ow! Ow! That hurts!" I yelled at Akira, who seemed to be enjoying snapping my spine.

"Hey, what's that?" Fujita pointed at the back of my neck.

"It's a _neck_, Fujita. And you say _I'm_ dense." Akira rolled his eyes.

"No, I mean, what's _on_ his neck? …It looks like a tattoo!" Fujita bent my head farther down to examine my head. Akira leaned over to look as well. "Holy crap, it _is_ a tattoo!" he wailed.

"You guys are insane!" I pulled myself up and groaned at the pain in my back. Fujita grabbed my neck and lifted my hair up to stare at my neck in amazement. "Wow… When did you get it, Taro? Looks cool…" Fujita traced his finger over the alleged tattoo.

"I _never_ got a stupid tattoo! Now cut it out!" I growled, trying to shake his hand off.

"Were you drunk at any point in your life?" Akira asked.

"No! Will you two nitwits just leave me alone?" I pleaded, doing a lunge while Fujita still continued to scan the 'tattoo'.

"Here, I'll take a picture of it with my cell phone and show you!" Fujita sneered and snuck his cell phone out of his pocket and took a snapshot of my neck.

"There!" He said, triumphantly waving the phone in my face. Sure enough, a large black symbol had been branded into my skin.

"WHAT? W-WHEN DID--? I DON'T REMEMBER--!" I stuttered.

"Obviously at some point you got it done. You were probably drunk." Akira waved his hand.

"B-but I _know_ I never got a tattoo! …And I've never been drunk!" I added hysterically. I heard thick sauntering footsteps crash down on the gym's floor as a burly fist clenched my shoulder.

"What's wrong with Yamamoto?" the coach barked at Akira and Fujita.

"Um…he's…uh…"

"Anxiety attack. He'll be fine in a few minutes." Fujita lied smoothly.

"Whatever. Just try to keep him from squawking like that." The coach grumbled, wandering off to terrorize a different group. "Nice one, Fujita." Akira gave him a thumbs-up. _I _know_ I never got a tattoo! _

**Home, ****回家**

_I'm gonna have to start wearing turtlenecks so no one can see it…_

"Hey Taro! How was your day?" Mom asked a little too sweetly when I came in the door.

"It was…good. I have to give Nozomi her homework. I'll be right back." I dug in my backpack for the thick stack of papers and scampered out the door. _I hope they're doing okay…_I pressed the doorbell and tried to hum to calm my nerves. The door creaked open and Nozomi stared at me, her eyes red and face blotched. "Yes?" she asked quietly.

"Um…Mrs. Hagasawa gave me these for you so you wouldn't get behind."

"Oh. Okay." Nozomi took the stack blankly and shut the door in my face without as much as a goodbye. "You're welcome." I grumbled and trudged back home.

"How was Nozomi?" Mom asked as she attempted to straighten up the kitchen table around Dad and his piles of research books he was poring over. "Not good by the looks of it. She's acting like a zombie." I sighed, plodding up the stairs, still perplexed by the marking on my neck.

I opened my laptop and powered it up, desperate for an answer. _Maybe there's some sort of weird disease that makes markings appear on your skin or something…_ My fingers hastily ran over the keyboard, searching the net for any possible answers. _Strange markings in crop circles, strange markings from alien abductions, strange markings manifesting on Bali temples…no, that's not what I need. Let's try 'mysterious spontaneous tattoos'…_ No match. _…How about 'strange tattoos'? _The page listed 13,000 references, most of them being for tattoo conventions and parlors. _This is gonna take a while…_After at least two hours I had combed through 3,000 of the 13,000 references and hadn't found anything remotely promising. _Tattoo designs…exploring the world of strange tattoos…Tattoo the movie…Tattoo party cruises? GOD! This is all just plain stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stu—hello, what's this?_ 'Tattoos under strange circumstances' flashed across the screen; I clicked on the link praying it was what I was looking for.

'_Since the dawning of time, tattoos have been closely associated with the paranormal world. In some aboriginal cultures in Africa, it shows spiritual maturity and their newfound connection with God. _

_There have also been several reports of tattoos or mysterious markings spontaneously appearing on individuals around the world. Although many have been discovered to be a ruse, there still remains the few that may indeed be related to something paranormal.'_

"This is ridiculous." I shook my head and clicked the 'back' button.

**School, ****学校**

"Hey, Fujita! Wait up!" I caught Fujita by the arm as he walked by down the hallway.

"What?" he snapped.

"Um…I was just wondering if you still had that picture of my 'tattoo' on your phone."

"Probably. Why?"

"Well…I was wondering if you could take a look at it and tell me what it is." I asked, pulling my collar up higher.

"How am I supposed to know?"

"You said you want to be a symbologist."

"Yeah."

"And yesterday you said it looked like a symbol. Ergo, I'd like you to tell me what it looks like to you." Fujita paused for a moment and thought it over. "Fine. I'll see what I can do." He pushed his glasses up and continued down the hallway. _I hope he's a good symbologist._

The next day Fujita caught up with me at lunch. "Well?" I asked as he took a seat on the bench next to me. "It's actually very interesting…" he started with a mouthful of apple.

"I'd love to be enlightened."

"In my initial inspection, I couldn't find the symbol anywhere. I'd gone through every book I had and even scoured the internet for it. No matches. Then I looked at it more carefully and realized that it's not a symbol!"

"Please get to the point before I shove my straw up your nose."

"It's not _a_ symbol, but a bunch of symbols put into _one_!"

"Such as…?"

"The symbol I uncovered first was an Ankh, an Egyptian letter that stood for the word '_nḫ',_ which means 'Life'."

"'Kay." It was obvious that Fujita liked to boast about his talents.

"Then I notcied that the bottom of the Ankh was a loop; it's supposed to be a straight line. But I saw that by rotating the symbol on its side it makes an Infinity loop."

"…"

"After that I saw that the top loop of the Ankh had a dot in it, which perplexed me for a while until I looked in one of my books to find that it goes along with the 'Eye of God' symbol, which is ironically identical to a Solar Symbol, which represents power and control. Next I looked into the three sets of three straight lines in the corners of the symbol. I immediately knew they were borrowed from the triangular representation of the Christian Trinity, a version of the Eye of Providence, a common symbol for a protector or something that is all-knowing."

"Uh…right."

"In a nutshell: the tattoo is a combination of symbols. It means: eternal life, protector or all-knowing, and immense power."

"Why didn't you just say that in the first place? …Can you tell its origin?"

Fujita shook his head. "It's a _combination_. It has no _single_ origin." He started to get annoyed. "You know, it's pretty sad that you got the tattoo and have no idea what it means. Who designed it?"

"I keep telling you that I don't remember getting the tattoo!"

"Whatever you say. Thanks for the stimulating conversation." Fujita grabbed his lunch tray and walked over to his usual table in the corner of the cafeteria. _Looks like I'm pretty much on square one._

**Home, ****回家**

I rang the intercom device positioned next to the thick metal door leading to Dad's lab. "This is Dr. Yamamoto."

"Hey Dad, it's me."

"Oh, hey Taro. What's up?"

"I just want to ask you a few questions." The door opened automatically opened and I walked into the dim room. Dad sat in the far corner of the room at his desk, leaning over a test tube filled with yellow liquid and staring at it intently.

"What are you doing?" I asked, staring at the test tube, unable to see what was so interesting.

"Watching the genes combine."

"But… you can't see genes with the naked eye."

"Yes, that's correct, except that I added dye in certain parts of the genes so I can see which ones combine when the liquid changes color."

"Oh."

"You had a question?"

"Hm? Oh, right! To your knowledge is there a disease that makes strange markings appear on the body?"

"Smallpox…Chicken pox…"

"No! I mean, like, intricate designs, not spots." I sighed. Dad scratched his chin in thought.

"Intricate? No disease I know of does that. Why do you want to know, anyway?"

"I'm doing a research paper for science." I lied quickly. Weaving together lies was starting to get easier; I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

"You can always research on the internet."

"I already did and all I got was a load of stories about alien abductions."

"Try specifying your query."

"I already did. I still got alien abductions." I shook my head, pulling up my turtleneck.

"People are so idiotic. Aliens don't abduct anything." Dad said with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Wait, are you saying you believe in aliens?"

"Don't you?"

"Come on, Dad. You know they're just a ruse created by people with overactive imaginations."

"Whatever you say, Taro." He said condescendingly.

"Thanks for your help." I grumbled, starting for the door.

"Wait, Taro. I know this is going to sound a little far-fetched, but…"

"What?"

"I have a theory that when a new gene is introduced into a body, the gene manifests not only into the body's genes, but also in a single concentrated area anywhere on the skin, usually taking shape as a symmetrical figure. I'm not sure I would call it a 'disease', per se, but it would be an interesting topic for your paper."

"Thanks Dad!" I smiled.

"And…why are you wearing a turtleneck?"

"I'm cold." I faked a shiver. I waved to him before he could keep asking questions and sprinted upstairs to my laptop. _Dad's idea doesn't seem too out there. After all, he does experiment with genes for a living, so maybe some got into my food or something._

The search page opened and I typed in _'strange markings, genes'_. _Let's see: Evolution, Mouse Genetics, Albino horses, Altered Human Genes, Equestrian FAQ… Wait! Altered Human Genes! _I clicked on the link and wasn't quite prepared for what I saw. It looked like it was some sort of news clip.

"_Headline: Ryou Shirogane takes responsibility for creating Tokyo Mew Mews! After the more recent attack on Tokyo, Dr. Shirogane took full credit for creating the Mews. "I injected a special kind of gene into five girls after detecting an alien presence on Earth. I decided to use the genes from endangered species, since they tend to be more resilient and have a greater want to preserve their species than other animals. I designed the gene so that when the threat was gone, their DNA would return to normal and when a threat presented itself again, the genes would activate again."_

_Many have tried to duplicate Dr. Shirogane's work, only to end up with catastrophic results. Only Dr. Shirogane has been able to successfully insert genes, and it seems he isn't keen to share his secrets. But as of 2007, Dr. Shirogane announced that he was bringing a halt to his research without offering an explanation, leaving many unanswered questions in his wake. The list of questions is endless: Who were the girls that were injected with the genes? Are their genes really stable? Were there more than the original five girls that were altered? Will Earth ever need the assistance of Tokyo Mew Mew again? Only time will tell. –This is Mia Haragata, Channel Four News, June 25, 2027."_

I stared at the computer screen with my mouth agape. No one had seen or heard from the Mews since around 2006. Growing up they'd just been a bedtime story and now here was a fairly recent news clip about them right in front of my eyes. _I didn't even think they were real…Maybe Dad can tell me something about them; I'm pretty sure he was around when the last Mews were here. Mom too, for that matter._

"Mom! Hey Mom!" I called as I bounded down the stairs. I found her sitting on the couch in the living room trying to write her latest song.

"Where's the fire?" she joked, not even looking up from her guitar.

"Mom, can you tell me about the Tokyo Mew Mews?" I asked. Mom's face twisted into a look I would've laughed at if I wasn't being serious. "Um…sure. What do you want to know?"

"Names, powers, anything!"

"Sure. The first Mews were Mew Ichigo, Mew Mint, Mew Lettuce, Mew Zakuro, and Mew Pudding. Mew Ichigo had been appointed as the leader. Tokyo was really chaotic that year... Then a little after the first round of aliens had been defeated, Mew Berry was added after a new threat came to Tokyo: The Saint Rose Crusaders. It wasn't quite as bad as the first round of aliens, though, thank goodness."

"Are you telling me that _aliens_ attacked Tokyo?" I laughed.

"Yes. Then a few years after the Saint Rose Crusaders came another round of aliens. Another Mew was introduced and soon the danger was gone. Since then Tokyo's been peaceful." Mom finished contentedly.

"What was the last Mews' name?"

"I don't remember." Mom said quickly. "Why the sudden interest?"

"I'm writing a science paper on…um, genetics."


	4. A Deal is Made

**Chapter Four: A Deal is Made, ****一笔交易被做出**

"_Curiosity in children is but an appetite for knowledge. The great reason why children abandon themselves wholly to silly pursuits and trifle away their time insipidly is because they find their curiosity balked and their inquiries neglected." –John Locke_

I typed _'Ryou Shirogane'_ into the search bar and got tons of results, one of which was the news clip I'd watched earlier. _'Café Mew Mew'? What on Earth…?_ I clicked on the link. _'Welcome to Café Mew Mew's website! Click on 'Menu' to check out all the cool stuff we serve. Also, you can now order online or by phone and we can have your order ready to pick up in about twenty minutes._

_-Thanks! Ryou Shirogane, manager"_

_He manages a café? Hm…let's see if there's an address…Bingo! To Café Mew Mew!_

I dashed downstairs and grabbed my leather jacket and keys. "Hey, where are you going? It's almost dark." Mom called from the kitchen.

"I'm going for a ride. I'll be back in a little while." I waved to her and ran out the door.

**Café Mew Mew**

_You have got to be kidding. _This_ is the café?_ I stood in front of the frilly pink building with 'Café Mew Mew' shining above it in bright fluorescent lights. _I guess I've got nothing to lose._ I sighed and walked into the café (which looked more like a giant frosted cupcake if you ask me). The inside looked like a replica of a child's dollhouse: hardly anything in the vast room wasn't pink and the waitresses that strutted table to table wore lacy doll-like uniforms. _I wonder if this Ryou guy is gay…_

"Welcome to Café Mew Mew!" A girl that jumped out of nowhere screamed, making me flinch. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you! Let me show you to a table!" she chuckled as she started towards an empty table.

"A-Actually, I was hoping to speak to your manager." I interrupted. The girl seemed genuinely surprised for a second, and then nodded happily. "I'll go see if he's available. Just hang tight right here, 'kay?"

A few seconds later she came back with a man with a long black ponytail trailing behind her. "This is Mr. Akasaka. Mr. Shirogane isn't available at the moment, but Mr. Akasaka would be more than happy to speak with you." She smiled, then returned to scaring customers by the door. "Can I help you?" Mr. Akasaka asked politely.

"Yes, I—Can we speak in private?" I asked, glancing at the crowded café. Mr. Akasaka seemed as surprised as the waitress had been, but smiled and nodded. "Of course. Please follow me." He led me towards the back of the café and motioned towards a door that was almost completely hidden behind a giant potted hibiscus.

The office had an altogether different mood from the café. It seemed to be more like something you expect to find in a business office with its plushy red leather chairs, metal desk, and wooden bookshelves without a touch of pink anywhere. Mr. Akasaka took a seat in the chair behind the desk and gestured me to take a seat in one of the two seats that faced the desk. As I did so, he laced his fingers together and looked upon me with interest.

"So, what can I do for you?" Mr. Akasaka questioned intently.

"I, um…I'm doing a paper for school on genetics and I was hoping that I could speak with you about… the Mew Project." I said quickly. _Just keep the story the same…_ Mr. Akasaka paused for a minute and seemed to be very amused. "It's nice to see some people still remember the old days." He sighed; I noticed for the first time that he had a few tired wrinkles on his face.

"Unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to give any information without Ryou's permission--." A tall blonde figure barged into the room wildly. "Ah, speak of the devil." Mr. Akasaka chortled. "Ha ha. Keiichiro, we've got some trouble down in the lab and—who's that?" the figure asked, noticing me sitting in the chair.

"This is…um."

"Taro." I said.

"He wants to know about the Mew Project." Keiichiro stated solemnly. Ryou looked at me like I was a drowned rat that a cat had just dropped on his doormat.

"And _why_, pray tell?"

"He says he's doing a paper for school."

"Riiiiight. Sorry, kid, we're done with all that." Ryou yanked me out of the chair and started shoving me out the door. "Have a nice day." He sneered and slammed the door in my face.

"Did you have a nice ride?" Mom asked from the living room as I stormed up the stairs.

"Oh yeah. It was a real blast." I grumbled angrily. I tossed my jacket on my desk and threw myself on my bed to sulk. _I can see why he wouldn't want to tell me anything, but he didn't have to be such a bastard about it. _I self-consciously fingered the brand on my neck hidden underneath my sweater. _I refuse to wear turtlenecks forever._

**Café Mew Mew**

"You could've been nicer Ryou." Keiichiro scolded.

"I really don't care about some brat that just comes in out of nowhere wanting to know everything."

"He seemed sincere to me."

"Not to me. And what was up with his dorky turtleneck? Who wears a turtleneck when it's eighty degrees outside?"

"That I don't know. But the point is that you should've been nicer."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Whatever. Come on; let's go clean up the acid spill in the lab."

"What on Earth were you doing with _acid_?"

"Trying out something." Ryou grinned.

**School, ****学校**

Nozomi showed up for school on Friday. People constantly bombarded her with their condolences and questions. She walked down the hall like a zombie, not speaking with any of her friends and just hanging her head. At lunch she picked a table in the far corner instead of her usual one in the middle with all of her friends. _Maybe I should go see how she's doing. It looks like her friends don't even notice she's not there…_ I swallowed my fear and took a seat in front of Nozomi. She stared blankly at me for a second, then returned her attention to her lunch.

"So…how are you?" I asked awkwardly.

"I would like to eat my lunch _in silence_." She growled.

"Okay." I shrugged and pretended to zip my mouth shut. _She's still as cold as ever._

"…Why are you wearing a turtleneck?" Nozomi asked after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

"I'm cold."

"It's eighty-five degrees."

"That doesn't mean I can't be cold." I said defensively.

"It's also against the dress code. I'm surprised you haven't gotten in trouble yet." She said with the warmth in her voice returning. "So am I." I chuckled.

Mr. Suzuki stood in front of the class holding a large box covered by a white sheet. "Today I have an exciting announcement! I thought that since we're studying animals and the environment that we should get a hands-on experience. Does anyone want to guess what's in the box before I lift the cover?" Mr. Suzuki asked excitedly. He was a particularly high-strung person and ran on at least eight cups of coffee a day at the minimum. There were also several rumors circulating that he was clinically insane (you only had to be in his class five minutes to figure out that there's something seriously wrong with him).

"Is it a snake?" the guy next to me asked, deciding to humor him.

"Nope!"

"Dog?"

"Nope!"

"Cat?"

"Nope!"

"Guinea pig?"

"Close!"

"Hamster?"

"Nope!"

"Rat?"

"Nope!"

"Rabbit?"

"Nope!

"Okay, I give up." He sighed. Mr. Suzuki lifted the cover with a flourish and presented it as if it were a trophy. "It's a gerbil!"

"Oh yay." The girl in the corner of the room mumbled. The gerbil had tawny speckled brown fur and wide, curious black eyes. "Who wants to volunteer to be the first person to take him home?" Mr. Suzuki asked.

"But…I thought he was going to be a class pet?"

"He _was_, but the principal is afraid that he'll get loose and you know how she is about rodents. So we'll trade him between all of you!" Mr. Suzuki smiled.

"Then…what's the point in having a _class_ pet if we aren't keeping him in the _classroom_?"

"There's absolutely _no_ point! Now, who want to take him first?" he smiled psychotically and looked for his first victim. _Looks like he's in one of his moods again._

"Oh, come on! Don't make me pick!" The class remained silent.

"All right…Um…Yamamoto! You're responsible! Here, you get to take care of Salami!" Mr. Suzuki grinned, dropping the cage on my desk.

"But I don't want it!"

"Too bad." He teased, half-skipping to the board and getting started on the day's lesson. _Why would you name a gerbil 'Salami'?_ I glared at the board and tried to ignore the giant gerbil cage sitting in front of me. Salami sat up on his back feet and stared up at me with his bright black eyes, chattering his teeth. "What are you looking at?" I growled. There was something about Salami's smell that made me hungry. Really hungry. _Man, that gerbil sure does smell good…What am I thinking? It's a stupid gerbil, not a hamburger!_ My mouth began to water heavily as I stared at the plump, juicy gerbil. _No! I am not going to eat the gerbil! That's just sick and wrong…and weird!_

**Home, ****回家**

"What do you have there?" Mom asked, coming to inspect the gerbil cage.

"Salami." I grumbled.

"It looks more like a gerbil to me."

"His name is Salami. He's our class pet for science and Mr. Suzuki made me take him home since we can't keep him at school."

"Awww, isn't he cute? Look at his little pawsey-wawsies!" Mom stuck her fingers into the cage to stroke Salami's fuzzy head.

"Do we have anything we can feed him?"

"I think we have some carrots in the refrigerator." Mom grinned as she watched Salami twitch his pink nose. "Cool." I grunted, going to the fridge and pulling out a carrot and sticking it into Salami's cage. _I'll fatten the sucker up for slaughter then serve him with a side of rice…_

**Yuri's Hideout, ****藏匿处**

Yuri tapped her fingers on her armrest waiting impatiently. The kindness and life in her eyes had dripped away over the years without Ronin by her side and she could feel her flawless ivory skin start to succumb to time, forming slight bags under her miserably beautiful eyes. A figure stepped from the frosty shadows and stood in front of Yuri expectantly. "What took you so long?" she snapped.

"You cannot rush The Gathering, my lady. The Spirits are tentative entities and must be dealt with the utmost care." The figure hissed, its deep voice as cold as the room's shadows. Its face was hidden behind thick grey-black hair and a high collar.

"Right, right. Will you show me _now_?" Yuri continued to tap on her chair.

"I shall." From the inner folds of his black foxtail poncho he produced two delicate white flowers in his black gloved hand. "I would like to see a spirit, not a _flower_." Yuri growled. "All in good time." He pressed his fingers to his lips and set the flowers on the cold stone floor. "The Yuurei are mostly drawn by scent. These fragrant jasmine petals should attract one." Above the jasmine a faint figure steadily faded into view, gently caressing the petals in its wispy hands as if they were a delicate robin's egg. It wore a plain white kimono; its long black hair that danced gracefully about the air; a white sash was tied on its forehead, and where there should have been a face was just a smooth surface. "So this is a Yuurei…" Yuri grinned in wonder at the amazing being before her.

"Yes. Their appearance may seem innocent, but once the command is given, they are lethal. They're souls of the dead that seek revenge from the living in any way possible. It's very common with murder victims." He looked upon the Yuurei like a proud parent. "So, we have a deal?"

"If they prove to be as lethal as you claim, then yes, we have a deal. May I ask your name now?" Yuri said clearly.

"Jiro the Obake. I can also command a few Youkai, but they, being comical and mischievous in nature, are harder to harness. Do you have the method of payment we discussed?" Jiro asked.

"As promised, the Scepter of the Mare Nectaris will be your reward."

"We have a deal, my lady." Jiro grinned.

Author's Corner!

Eep! I forgot the last author's corner! Sorry 'bout that. So about the story: I've always wanted to add one of those semi-insane teachers that everyone ends up having some time in their life. Thus, Mr. Suzuki was created for my amusement. ((chuckles)) I also wanted some more evil rodents ((flashes back to Held Loosely with the 'vampire vermin')). I just can't seem to get enough of the little critters. Most of the inspiration comes from my spoiled rotten guinea pig, Scarlet. She's just a ball of lard with fur. Tune in next time. ((theme music))


	5. What About Our Promise?

**Chapter Five: What About Our Promise, ****什么关于我们的诺言？**

"_The gerbil runs the wheel.  
Round and round and round and  
Gets nowhere fast.  
But:  
Does he do it for the sheer joy?  
Or does he think eventually...  
He'll reach some gerbil paradise,  
An Eden of his own,  
Will he come at last to that perfect home  
Without any weirdo strangers like me around?" –Unnamed Author_

The first thing I woke up to was Salami noisily chattering his teeth and squeaking loudly. "OKAY! I'M UP! I'M UP!" I yelled at Salami. "You have no idea how close you are to being a gerbil pie! I can't even get a good night's sleep with you around!" I leveled my face with Salami's and glared at him. "No wonder Mr. Suzuki wanted to get rid of you." I grumbled as I slipped a shirt over my head. I impulsively felt my neck and reached for a different shirt with a high collar. "I'm going out for a bit. You be good and don't do anything…evil." I said to Salami and headed downstairs. Mom and Dad sat at the kitchen table hunkered over their cups of coffee and having a typical groggy breakfast conversation. "I'm going to take Kisho out for a spin." I slipped my leather jacket on over my high-collared shirt as I grabbed my keys. "I'll be out pretty much all day; I've got my cellphone." I told half-awake Mom and Dad before rushing out the door.

**Tokyo Bay, ****东京海湾**

I parked Kisho on the grass beside the road that overlooked the bay. The sun was sinking just below the horizon and dyed the ocean a brilliant hue of orange. A zephyr picked up locks of my hair and made them dance about in the salty air. I shut my eyes and leaned over the road's railing to take in the sea's calming scent, letting it wash all my worries away. I sighed and sat on the waxy grass, happier than I'd been for a while. I gazed back at the sea's orange painted waves, wondering what it looked like from a fish's point of view, wishing that I could be a fish and float in the waves and not have to worry about anything except hurricanes and bigger fish. I tried to keep my mind clear, but of course as I started trying, thoughts flooded into my brain; thoughts of Tomo. _No. Don't think about that! Think about anything but Tomo! _...So naturally I started thinking of Tomo.

"Still can't believe you're gone… This used to be our favorite spot…" I whispered to the sea, hoping that Tomo could somehow hear me. A few tears burned my eyes and steadily ran down my face as the memories danced through my mind. _God, pull it together…_ I wiped my face on my sleeve and took a deep breath. Someone placed their hand on my shoulder gently. "Huh?" I turned around, seeing Nozomi, her eyes red and blotchy.

"N-N-Nozomi? What are you doing here?" I stuttered, knowing she probably saw me crying and talking to someone that wasn't there. She squeezed a small smile on her face and stood beside me, looking out at the sea. "I thought you'd be here." She sniffled.

"How so?"

"This was you and …_his_ favorite spot."

"'_He_' has a name…"

"Sorry. I just…I don't know, I just can't say his name yet…"

"How are your parents?"

"Horrible. It really put Mom in a state: she barely eats anything, doesn't come out much…and when I try to talk to her she calls me by his name sometimes. Dad's better than she is, but he doesn't say a word and just mopes around the house when he's not at work." Nozomi's voice cracked and her shoulders shuddered as she held back a sob. I smiled for her sake and placed my hand on her shoulders to bring her back to reality. "Just give them time. It was a big loss for everyone."

"But you got over it… Or at least you look like you did. I just…I feel so horrible when I cry in front of them because I know it makes them even more upset than I am. So…I really can't cry in front of them." Nozomi sniffled as she tried to keep her tears from falling.

"I'm anything but over it." I whispered, looking out at the sea again. "Hey, I have an idea! Why don't you come over and meet Salami?" I offered, desperate for anything that could get her mind off Tomo for a few minutes.

"_Salami?_" she paused and laughed. "Yep, Salami. I know you'll like him. Come on!" I ran to Kisho and motioned her to get on. With an amused grin on her face she climbed onto Kisho and secured her arms around my waist, sending shivers up my spine. _Calm down, calm down._

**Home, ****回家**

"Oh! He's so adorable!" Nozomi squealed when she laid eyes on Salami.

"Only if he didn't wake you up this morning." I grumbled, opening his cage and taking him out. I dumped the little furball into her outstretched hands and wrinkled my nose, trying to suppress the eat-the-gerbil-right-now-you-fool thoughts.

"He's the cutest thing ever!" Nozomi exclaimed, stroking his ears and fluffy tail.

"Do you want him? Mr. Suzuki dumped him on me yesterday and now I'm stuck with him."

"I wish I could, but a new pet's not really in the cards right now." she sighed.

"Oh…"

"…Why is his name Salami?" Nozomi asked suddenly, finding it funny she hadn't asked earlier.

"You know how Mr. Suzuki gets when he's in one of his 'moods'. I'm surprised he didn't name him something stranger."

"How can you get stranger than 'Salami'?"

"I bet his dog's name is something like 'Paper Shredder'." I grinned. Nozomi laughed loudly and kissed Salami lightly on the head. _Never thought I'd be jealous of that stupid rodent…_"I would feel so sorry for that dog." She chuckled.

**Later, ****更迟**

"That was absolutely the _best day of my life_!" I sighed happily, collapsing onto my bed in content exhaustion. _I can't believe I just spent the entire day with Nozomi! I've never been around her that long before! Man, oh, man! _The first hour or so had been awkward since I couldn't stop blushing and stuttering every time she said something to me, but after I got used to her, it felt like hanging out with one of the guys._ One thing still bothers me though…_ Right before she ran up the steps to her house she turned to me with a smile on her face and said, "Thanks for the great day Taro. You're a good friend." No hug, no goodnight peck on the cheek, just 'Thanks'. _I guess 'friend' is better than 'casual acquaintance'._ "Better hit the sack." I yawned.

The first thing I saw when I woke was two big fat black eyes in my face. "HOLY HELL!" I screamed, rolling off the bed in shock. And behold—on the bed stood Salami, twitching his whiskers and looking down at me innocently with his annoyingly bulbous gerbil eyes. "_I'm going to kill you!_" I shouted as I dove for the gerbil. When I had him in my clutches he still kept up the angelic-little-gerbil face. As I stomped over to his cage, I saw that the cage's door was standing wide open. _How in the world did that happen? Salami couldn't have opened it; he doesn't have opposable thumbs, and I'm positive that I didn't leave his cage open._ "Maybe I was sleepy last night and forgot to close it..." I muttered sleepily, returning Salami to his cage. The digital clock on my nightstand read six o'clock. _I might as well get ready for school since that dumb gerbil woke me up._ I shoved through the mountain of school clothes accumulating in the floor and found a shirt and pants that could pass as 'clean'. "Wait…where's my turtleneck?" I asked myself while frantically digging through the pile. _The last time I wore it was Friday! It has to be here! _After at least fifteen minutes of turning my room upside down and inside out looking for my turtleneck, I surrendered and decided to take my chances of someone seeing the 'tattoo'. "When I get home you're getting a very stern lecture." I growled at Salami before going downstairs to choke down some cereal.

"You're up kinda early." Mom remarked as she sat a cup of coffee on the table for Dad.

"Salami woke me up." I grumbled through a mouthful of Cheerios.

"Is that what that was?" Dad asked, shaking his head. I nodded angrily and brooded over my bowl. "So…How was Nozomi feeling yesterday?"

"She was still zombie-like at first, but after a while she was her normal self. I think she just needed to get out of the house."

"So _that's_ why you were taking her out all day." Mom nudged me in the side as she took a deep sip from her coffee. "What a shame. We thought you'd finally asked her to go out with you." She winked.

"Mom!" I blushed; Mom and Dad giggled.

"Just be yourself Taro. I'm sure if you give her some time she'll warm up to you. After all, your mother--." Dad started; I held my hand up. "Oh would you look at the time! I'm late for school!" I cried in fake shock, retrieving my backpack.

**School, ****学校**

Mrs. Hagasawa stood at the blackboard and wrote out the day's list of assignments. _Page 322…_I fished around in my bag for my English textbook, but found that it was missing. In fact, _everything_ was missing. My hand hit the cloth bottom of my bag without hitting a single book, pencil, or piece of paper. _Uh-oh._ I looked around frantically for something I could use as the people around me started the assignment. _Maybe if I just pretend to be working…_Mrs. Hagasawa began to pace up and down the rows of desks. _Damn!_ She came to my desk and stopped. "Where is your textbook, Mr. Yamamoto?" she asked calmly, even though I knew beneath her kind exterior was the flaring temper of a dragon. I gulped, knowing there was a ninety percent chance that I was about to get a detention slammed in my face.

"I can't find it... I think I might've left it at home." I said weakly. Mrs. Hagasawa kept calm and just shook her head. "Then I suppose you'll have to write down the assignment and do it on your own time then." She pursed her lips as if I were a sour taste in her mouth. "Yeah." I sighed, desperately jotting down the page number onto the palm of my hand with a chewed-up pen I found lying on the floor.

**Home, ****回家**

I slammed the door behind me and stomped upstairs without a word to Mom, who was sitting at the kitchen table obsessing over her music sheets. "Dad won't be home for a while; he had some sort of …epiphany and is probably going to stay at work all night." Mom called after me wearily.

_Today sucked._ I was extremely lucky that I had gone through the day without getting a detention (or worse), especially when one of the jocks in P.E. saw my tattoo and considered telling the coach. But what could the coach do about it? Tell me go home and wash it off? The jock decided that it wasn't worth it, but still made a lot of snide remarks behind my back.

I slumped into my chair in front of my desk, determined to finish the experiment I had started last week to get my mind off all the day's 'inconveniences'. Something lying on the desk pulled in all my attention and my thoughts came to a halt. It was a slip of paper; albeit a ripped, waterlogged slip of paper. Nine words had been scrawled onto the paper to form two sentences that sent shivers through my body.

_You haven't told her yet? What about our promise? _

There were two things about the note that got my thoughts teetering on the edge of insane: the only promise I could remember making was at the hospital last week. But what really didn't make sense was that… the note was in _Tomo's_ handwriting.

The note slipped from my sweaty palms onto the desk, burning into my brain. _H-How did this get here? …It's obvious Tomo couldn't have written it, I mean, he's…dead. Dead people don't just hop out of their graves and decide to drop off notes to their friends! _"I'm getting too worked up about this. I've just had a stressful day, is all. There is clearly an explanation for this." I chanted to keep from running out of the room screaming at the top of my lungs. An amused chuckle came from the room's corner. Ice ran through my veins as I forced myself to turn around. _Please let it be Salami, please let it be Salami, please let it be Salami…_ To my surprise, nothing was there. Nothing but wall. I let out a ragged breath and ran my fingers through my hair nervously. "I think I'm going insane…" I muttered shakily.

"I've been telling you that for _years_." An exasperated, yet _deathly_ familiar, voice said from over my shoulder. I refused to turn around and shut my eyes tight.

"Who are you?" I could feel my legs begin to tremble.

"My God! I've been your best friend your entire life and now you want to know who I am! Did everyone just forget I existed since last week or something?"

"You're not real. I'm asleep. I'll be waking up any minute now. Yep, I'm stiiiill asleep. Gonna wake up aaaany time now…" I chanted my soothing mantra while slapping my forehead. A glacial, but still creepily tangible, hand touched my shoulder lightly. _Don't look, don't look, don't look, don't look, don't look, don't look, don't look._

"Look at me Taro." The voice was suddenly serious.

"You're **_dead_**. You can't be here. It's a scientific improbability. I am ASLEEP." I repeated.

"I assure you that I'm here. But thanks for reminding me of my current lack of a fully tangible body." He grumbled acridly.

"But that means that you're a…" I was too scared to finish the sentence.

"A ghost." Tomo filled in happily. _I want to look at him, but what if he's all bloody or something?_

"Look at me." He repeated, starting to get annoyed.

"I don't want to."

"Hey! Is that an insult?"

"No, it's just…I'm not sure what you look like and… I still can't grasp the fact that you're a…_g_-_ghost_."

"I don't look scary. I look completely normal…except for the slight transparency, of course." Tomo laughed. I braced myself, clutching the chair's armrest with a deathgrip and taking in a deep breath. My torso turned slowly and I tried to look at the person standing in front of me without screaming. Tomo had his arms crossed across his chest and stared at me expectantly. He was wearing what he had worn on the day on the crash, except his clothes weren't in tatters anymore. In a crowd I wouldn't have looked at him twice if he wasn't slightly see-through.

"Are you okay or do you need me to slap you around a bit?" Tomo joked, laughing at my wide eyes and dropped jaw.

"N-No, I'll be fine. Just…give me a minute." I put my hand on my forehead and rubbed my temples. _I don't know what to believe anymore. First a tattoo appears out of nowhere, aliens apparently exist, and now my friend that died last week is standing in front of me like it's no big deal!_

"Unfortunately we don't have a minute." Tomo's face turned grave as he yanked me out of the chair by my shirt with surprising force.

"W-Wha…?" I tried to speak while Tomo flung me onto the bed and looked at me sternly. "We've got a _lot_ of catching up to do and I'm not going to repeat myself, got it?" I nodded, trembling, still unable to process the fact that Tomo had come back from the dead.

"I learned quite a bit after I died. See, there's this guy who can harness spirits and make them do whatever he wants. He came when I had just arrived in the Otherworld and pulled out these flowers. At least half of the spirits came to him; he was saying something but I couldn't hear him. I can't _tell _you how much I wanted the flowers. For some reason I just _wanted_ them, and from the looks of it so did everyone else. But…I dunno, something held me back. He gathered everyone into this weird container thing--."

"How does this involve me?"

"I'm getting there; don't interrupt. The guy opened a portal and went through it. I, seeing something fishy was underway, followed him to see what on he needed all those spirits for. The portal came to this super-scary-looking place. It was a giant room made out of rock, obsidian I think…"

"_Get to the point._"

"Um…and then…Oh yeah! I hid in the corner of the room to see what was happening. The guy went towards this really cute chick that was sitting in a chair at the end of the room. From what they said, it sounded like he was going to do something for her with the spirits in exchange for a scepter-thingy. I smelled trouble so I stayed there until I could see what exactly she wanted to do. I went around rummaging through the place looking for clues and I actually found the chick's diary!"

"So you came back from the dead just to tell me you're a stalker?"

"NO! In the diary she'd written down _everything_!"

"You really shouldn't read people's diaries, Tomo." I scolded. Tomo might be dead, but he still acted the same. Tomo sighed angrily.

"LET-ME-FINISH! …So anyway, guess what I found in her diary."

"I don't know."

"You have to guess!"

"…Innermost secrets?"

"Exactly!"

"Um…."

"Guess who she has a grudge on?"

"JUST TELL ME!"

"In her diary, she mentioned two names that I think you'll be very familiar with."

"_Tomo_!"

"In a nutshell, she wants revenge on two people named _Komori_ and _Kiyoshi_ for killing her boyfriend."

"It has to be a coincidence. Mom and Dad don't kill people, they're too boring."

"Is it?" Tomo reached into his back pocket and pulled out a thick leather-bound book, throwing it on my lap.

"Oh Tomo, you didn't…"

"Oh yes I did. Page two hundred forty-six." Tomo took a seat next to me and started to flip through the pages of spidery cursive. Tomo pointed to the page and scrolled down with his index finger, underlining the names Komori and Kiyoshi.

'_Ever since Ronin died, nothing can fill me with happiness. And even more irksome, the fact that his killers are still out there living their lives without any remorse for what they have robbed me of! I swear now that before my life is over that Mew Komori and Kiyoshi will taste my revenge.'_

"I'm still confused…who is this girl?"

"Her name's Yuri. No last name, just Yuri." Tomo shrugged. "Maybe you should ask your parents if they know a girl by that name."

"Wait…it said _Mew_ Komori."

"Yep. The last Mew."

"Mom said…she said that _aliens _attacked Earth…"

"Uh-huh."

"But aliens don't exist! She was just kidding with me! Wasn't she…?"

"Apparently ghosts don't exist either, yet I'm standing right in front of you." Tomo raised his eyebrow.

"I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to believe anymore." I put my face in my hands and paused. "So…you're suggesting that my Mom was the Mew and Dad was somehow wrangled into it; and they killed the aliens attacking Earth? Is that right?"

"Well, yeah, but there's an interesting catch…"

"Which would be…?" I asked impatiently. At this point I was ready to accept anything.

"Since your Mom was the Mew--."

"_Might_ be the Mew." I added.

"Yeah, whatever. Well, since she had a kid, the Mew gene probably got carried down."

"Are you saying that I'm a… **_Mew_**?" I asked, holding back a nervous laugh.

"Precisely! And I think that if we figure out how to use your power we can get rid of that Yuri chick before she tries to get back at your parents." Tomo finished. I just stared at him, mystified by how he manipulated things to his advantage.

"Have you noticed anything…_strange_ happening to you?" Tomo asked, wanting to further prove his point.

"Such as?"

"I don't know. Just…anything."

"Well…yeah…" I began.

"_Tell me!_"

"Okay! After you died…I had this dream. At least, I think it was... I was floating and this cat-thing… came into me. Then on Monday I went back to school and these guys in P.E. saw a mark on my neck. I got Fujita to look at it and he said it was a symbol. Then the other day when Mr. Suzuki gave me Salami I wanted to eat him… And today a lot of my stuff went missing."

"You wanted to eat Mr. Suzuki because he gave you salami? Man, I thought _I_ had problems."

"No! The gerbil's name is Salami! I wanted to eat the gerbil!" I pointed at Salami.

"Oh. I guess that makes a little more sense."

"Yeah."

"So let's see: a weird dream, a weird mark, and a weird urge to eat gerbils. The Mews' DNA comes from animals… so maybe your animal likes to eat gerbils?"

"I'm not a Mew!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Oh, and the disappearing stuff was actually me, I just felt like messing with you."

"_What!_"

Someone knocked on the door and we both immediately both shut our mouths. "Taro? Are you okay? I heard yelling…" Mom yelled through the door.

"It's just the TV!" I shouted back. Mom didn't seem to buy that and came in. _Oh God! I hope Tomo can go invisible!_ She looked around the room for anything suspicious, her eyes passing right over Tomo. She raised her eyebrow and sighed. "Okay, I won't ask."

"Do you know a girl named Yuri?" Tomo asked, trying to sound as much like me as he could. Mom froze in her tracks and stared at me for a second. "Why?" she tried to ask kindly.

"Just wondering." I squeaked, holding back the urge to punch Tomo.

"I did…a long time ago." She said brusquely and left without another word. "I'm going to murder you!" I clenched my teeth after I made sure Mom shut the door.

"It's a shame I'm already dead." Tomo grinned.

Author's Corner!

Hey everybody! Sorry I haven't posted that many chapters; school's been demanding a lot of my time. ; ; So yeah. I made a soundtrack for "Samsara" because I'm just that bored. I'll post it on the next Author's Corner!


	6. Training

**Chapter Six: Training,** **训练 **

"_Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal: my strength lies solely in my tenacity." –Louis Pasteur._

Tomo had insisted on following me to school. "Behave yourself!" I hissed as he followed me into the cafeteria for lunch. "Hey! Go sit by Nozomi! I want to see how she's doing!" Tomo whispered.

"No way! She's with her boyfriend!"

"So?"

"The guy just got back from a weight-lifting competition in Hokkaido, okay? He'll pulverize me!"

"Fine, scaredy cat! Can we at least get a table near them?"

"Whatever." I grumbled and led Tomo to a table next to Nozomi's. She noticed me sitting down and flashed me a quick smile that her boyfriend didn't see.

"Hey, Taro, would you mind if we sat with you?" Fujita and Akira took seats across from me.

"Not at all." I mumbled, looking to my left and realizing that Tomo wasn't there. _Oh boy…_ I slipped under the table, frantically hoping Tomo was there. He wasn't.

"Did you lose something?" Akira asked.

"Um…yeah." I said distractedly. _I told him to behave himself! That little--! …Oh God. _I had found Tomo: he was standing behind Nozomi's boyfriend ready to spill a carton of chocolate milk on his head. I shook my head wildly; Tomo grinned evilly and began to tilt the carton. "NO!" I darted from under the table and tried to tackle Tomo, falling right through him and landing face first on the floor; at the same instant Tomo dumped the milk onto the boyfriend's head.

"WHO THE--? _YOU_!" Nozomi's boyfriend wiped the chocolate milk off his face and picked me up off the floor by my neck.

"It was…an…accident." I choked as his hand clenched tighter around my throat. Nozomi hopped up from her seat and tried to reason with him. "Kanaye, I'm sure it was just an accident; calm down!"

"This twerp needs to learn a lesson." Kanaye growled.

"A little… help?" I gasped at Tomo desperately. By now people in the cafeteria had started to form a wide semi-circle around us, excited at the prospect of some lunchtime entertainment. _Oh great. Not only will my beating hurt, but it will also be humiliating. Gotta think…There has to be some law of physics playing into this._ Tomo stood where he was and mouthed 'I can't!'. _Okay, I'm starting to get dizzy now…Think! Newton's laws of motion… 'For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction'. Kanaye is exerting force on me, but I'm also exerting force on Kanaye. But if the force I'm exerting becomes unbalanced, then I would be exerting more force, thus, freeing myself. Naturally! _I gathered all the strength I had left in my legs and kangaroo-kicked Kanaye right in the chest, sending him flying to the floor. I grasped my neck and swallowed as much air as I could. "You little punk!" Kanaye pushed himself to his feet, getting into a fighting stance. _There's no way I can beat him!_ Nozomi continued to scream, now at both of us. Kanaye growled and sprinted towards me with his left hand curled into a fist. _He's bigger than me…but that means there's a greater pull on him!_ Right when he was about to hurtle into me, I sidestepped him. Kanaye crashed to the floor a second time and got angrier. "Think you're funny?" He charged a second time, now with his guard up. _Now what?_ I did the only thing I could with a guy with a body mass index of twenty-five charging at me full-speed. _Pressure points…What do I know about pressure points? Attacks to the outer thigh causes momentary paralysis, when pressure's applied to the carotid artery it results in a blackout…and a punch to the solar plexus results in loss of breath… _I curled my hand into a fist and rammed it straight into Kanaye's diaphragm, sending him a good ten feet back. The crowd grew silent and stared at me in wonder. "Woah…" Someone blurted in the silence. Kanaye lay face down on the floor panting, trying to push himself up; I went to help him up. "Get away from me, freak!" he slapped my hand away. Nozomi crawled onto the floor and helped him up slowly. _I think it's time to go._ I lowered my head and ran out of the cafeteria, refusing to look or talk to anyone.

News spread fast and by fourth period every person that passed me in the hallway either stared or turned to their friend and whispered something. "Great. Now I'm a freak instead of a loser!" I bellowed under my breath at Tomo as I got dressed for gym.

"I just couldn't resist!"

"You _do_ understand that Nozomi's probably pissed at me, don't you?"

"Yeah...I'm sorry. Look, you'd better get your freaky self in the gym before the tardy bell rings." Tomo pushed me out the locker room door. Everyone froze when I strode to the back of the crowd and sat by Akira and Fujita.

"Dude! You're a celebrity!" Akira punched me on the shoulder.

"I never thought you were capable of sending someone twice your size flying across the room." Fujita analyzed, adjusting his glasses.

"Why have you been holding yourself back? You could be on the football team with an arm like that!" Akira exclaimed.

"You guys don't get it…" I sighed. The coach stomped in front of the crowd. "Today we're running laps around the track… Don't just sit there, get up you lazy bums! Come on! Move it! Move it!" the coach thundered. We scrambled to our feet and began to run outside to the track. "Hold it Yamamoto!" the coach caught me by the arm and yanked me back. Akira pulled his finger across his throat and made a choking sound before going out the door with everyone else.

"Take a seat!" the coach wrenched me into his office and drove me into a chair in front of his desk. His office smelled like sweaty socks. "I saw your scuffle with Kanaye." He stared at me intently, as if he were seeing something he had looked over before.

"Please let me explain! He was about to kill me; I didn't have any other choice--!"

"I don't care about what happened. Boys will be boys. What I want to know is why you haven't shown the same gusto in class? You practically flung him across the cafeteria, and here you are in my class bench-pressing twenty pounds!"

"Well, sir, the mind and body tend to go into overdrive when their safety is threatened…"

"So you're saying the only way to get you to score a goal in football is to come after you with a butcher knife?"

"Um…n-no." I could imagine the coach doing something like that very vividly.

"Then what _will_? I'm telling you, if you do what you did today all the time you'd be a star athlete!"

"I'm not very interested in sports. I'm more of an academic."

"Not interested in sports? Then why are you even in my class?"

"Because I need this credit to graduate."

"Oh, right. Well, if you ever change your mind…"

"I won't." I left his office and ran out towards the track.

**Home, ****回家**

"If you ever pull a stunt like that again…" I threatened Tomo as I walked into my room, flinging my jacket over a chair.

"Actually, I was trying to prove a point."

"And what would that point be? How incredibly unstable you are?"

"No. You got a sudden increase in your athletic ability!"

"And?"

"That's a characteristic of the Mew gene being present _and_ activated! Are you blind? It's so _obvious_!"

"How do you even _know_ the characteristics?"

"'Cuz I broke into that one guy's lab."

"…That 'one guy' wouldn't happen to be Ryou Shirogane, would it?"

"Yeah, that was his name! Never even knew I was there. I slipped in, learned some stuff, and then came to crash at your place."

"You're unbelievable."

"Yep, I'm pretty amazing." Tomo grinned.

"So let's say _hypothetically_ if my Mom was the Mew and I do have the gene. Then what?"

"We wait until the chick strikes the first blow."

"_That's_ your plan? That's absolutely ludicrous!"

"Do you have a better suggestion, Einstein?"

"Well….no."

"Right then. Until you think of some crazy harebrained scheme of your own, we're going with mine." Tomo said with a finality in his voice and crossed his arms at his chest. "In the meantime you need to be in top physical condition. We need to start training you." Tomo chuckled, running his fingers down my puny arms.

"What?"

"You can't expect to beat the weird spirit guy in your condition. No offense, but compared to him you look like a piece of uncooked spaghetti. He'll snap you like a dry twig." Tomo shook his head. "But…" I was at a loss for words. There was no stopping Tomo once he had his mind set on an idea.

"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT? _IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?_" Tomo screamed in my face as I tried to bench press the hundred pounds in the school's workout room.

"YES!" I grunted through clenched teeth, pain scorching my muscles like wildfire.

"THEN GET MORE, 'CUZ THAT'S JUST WEAK!" he screamed again. "YOU WANNA DEFEAT THE WEIRD SPIRIT GUY, DON'T YOU?"

"NOT IF IT INVOLVES LIFTING WEIGHTS!" I yelled back while trying to lift the hundred pound weights.

"GOD, YOU'RE DUMB!" Tomo slapped me on the forehead. He took a seat on the floor and sighed. "Look, as soon as you lift that we can go home. So the more time you complain…"

"FINE!" Ignoring the searing ache in my arms, I focused every thought on lifting the bar. I saw that the weights start to rise slowly, steadily.

"I'll be damned." Tomo gawked.

"Can-I-go-home-now?" I struggled under the crushing weight.

"Sure! How about tomorrow we make it two hundred?"

"You know," I muttered as I put the bar back in its notch, "It's very difficult to start lifting a hundred pound weights cold turkey."

"I know. It's part of your training program. It prepares you for unexpected challenges."

"Does that mean we're _coming back_?"

"You bet! And things are only going to get harder!"

**Yuri's Hideout, ****藏匿处**

Yuri reclined in her high-backed ebony chair, reflecting on the past. She had heard of Jiro through the evil grapevine and was anxious to see if his talents could retrieve Ronin's soul from the Otherworld.

"I'm sorry, my lady, but…his soul is not there." Jiro had said.

"How so? You said all the dead go there!" Yuri screamed.

"Only the dead that have 'unfinished business'. He must have decided that there was nothing left for him to do. Therefore, his spirit would not be in the Otherworld and is irretrievable."

"No!" Yuri wanted to rip out her locks of dirty blonde hair.

"I can, however, offer you my services. I understand you want revenge, and if there is anything that I am gifted at, it is revenge. Of course, there will be a price…"

And thus Jiro had become her right hand man...or whatever he was. There was still something about his demeanor that made Yuri have distrustful feelings toward him. _After all, he is an Obake, a shapeshifter. I must be very cautious with him._

"My lady," Jiro said as he stepped from the shadows, "The preparations may take some time."

"Why?"

"The Yuurei cannot be utilized until they have been in the real world for an entire lunar cycle or they will disintegrate as soon as they try to use their powers."

"So you're saying that I have to wait a _month_ before we can use them for anything?" Yuri's voice rose with frustration. _Why didn't the imbecile tell me this sooner?_

"Yes my lady. But in the meantime I need to gain information on our target. You have yet to tell me anything."

"Of course, of course. You know, I was thinking we'd attack on a much larger scale. It was Ronin's dream to claim the planet for himself and I intend to carry out his plan."

"I'm not sure that would be a wise move--."

"…And naturally half of the planet will be given to you for your services along with the Scepter of the Mare Nectaris." Yuri knew Jiro wouldn't be able to resist an offer like that.

"I fear you have caught my interest." He lowered his head slightly in defeat.

"Wonderful." Yuri grinned. _My revenge may be delayed, but it will all come in time. They will all feel the suffering and hopelessness that has been suffocating me for so long. _

**School, ****学校**

"Great job Taro! That's a personal best!" Tomo clicked the button on the electronic timer he had 'borrowed' from the coach's office. I wiped the perspiration from my forehead and took a long swig from my water bottle as the treadmill came to a halt. "Y-Yeah…" I huffed.

"Now all that's left to do is sit ups!" Tomo helped me to the floor and held my feet. "Aaand…Go!"

"One, Two, Hey do you still think Nozomi's mad?" Tomo asked as I came up.

"Dunno. Four, Five…"

"And who said conversation is a lost art? Seven…." Tomo joked.

"I think Mom and Dad are getting worried about me staying at school until five o'clock…ten, eleven… Especially after you asked Mom if she knew Yuri…thirteen, fourteen."

"Just wait until they see how buff you've gotten! You've put on about three pounds of muscle in, what? A week? Seventeen, eighteen…"

"I'm not sure if that's healthy…twenty…"

"Healthy or not, you still have a long way to go to get up to par with the weird guy…twenty-three…"

"I'm not even sure if I have anything to do with this! …twenty-six…"

"I keep telling you that you do! …twenty-eight."

"…Hey, Tomo, how come you can hold me down, but when I tried to tackle you the other day I just fell through you?...thirty-one…"

"It's a matter of choice on my part. If I want to touch something, I can. If I don't want someone to see me, they don't. The other day you caught me by surprise so I didn't have time to 'let' you tackle me. It's hard to explain…thirty-five…"

"I'm home!" I yelled when I walked in the door at five fifteen, stomach sore from doing one hundred fifty sit-ups.

"Come here, Taro." Dad beckoned from the kitchen.

"Yeah?"

"Well…I'm a little nervous with this exercising regimen you've started--."

"I have everything under control: I'm drinking plenty of water, eating higher calorie foods, and I'm not pushing myself too hard." I said (okay, it was all a lie, but what Dad doesn't know won't hurt him).

"I know, but I just don't want you to get too obsessed over it, okay?" Dad asked, still worried. "Okay." I winked.

Komori came from her seat on the couch and sat next to Kiyoshi at the kitchen table. "What'd he say?"

"He just said not to worry and he had it under control." Kiyoshi shook his head.

"A while back he asked me if I knew a girl named Yuri… He also asked about the Mews."

"_What? _What did you tell him?" Kiyoshi was completely shocked.

"I told him I knew her a long time ago…You don't think that…Yuri is…?"

"Anything's possible…It would sort of explain the wild exercise routine he's gotten into."

"…Let's not assume anything just yet. After all, he could just be doing that to put on some muscle to attract Nozomi."

"That's not really like him…" Kiyoshi hesitated. "Boys go nuts when the hormones kick in." Komori nudged Kiyoshi in the side.

"Check that out! You've almost got a six pack!" Tomo laughed as he poked my stomach.

"Cut it out! That tickles!" I giggled. Tomo sighed and flopped down on the bed with his hands behind his head. "At the rate you're packing on all that muscle, Nozomi won't be able to resist you!"

"I thought this was about getting stronger, not attracting girls."

"Well, getting stronger is the primary goal, but the girls are the secondary." Tomo winked. "You're so messed up." I laughed.

"You know it!" Tomo flashed a wide grin at me.

**School, ****学校**

It was about four o'clock and I was in the workout room, training as usual. Tomo had created what he called The Ultimate Workout: running on the treadmill, lifting weights, sit-ups, trunk lifts, push-ups, yoga, you name it. I was in the middle of doing the one hundred push-ups Tomo had forced on me when I heard the door open. _Who…?_ I stopped on push-up fifty-seven to see that Kanaye was standing at the door, looking at me with a "WTF?" expression.

"Um…hi." I mumbled.

"So this is your secret… No wonder you nearly knocked me out cold." Kanaye began to slowly walk towards me. _I don't like the look on his face…_ "Punch him!" Tomo chanted in my ear; he never had liked Kanaye.

"What do you want?" I grabbed a towel and mopped the sweat off my face and neck.

"You sure like to get to the point, don't you?"

"Only when it's someone that I don't particularly like. _What do you want?_" I repeated, bracing my body for a fight. _I'll welcome the practice._

"Calm down, I didn't come here to fight you. Coach assigned me to clean the workout room for two weeks after losing the match last night." Kanaye explained. "So just go on with your weird little workout thing."

"I don't like to be watched." I gathered all of my things into my gym bag and made for the door.

"Just out of curiosity, what _is_ your workout…?"

"It's not any of your business." I quipped. _Like I'd tell you._

"Don't mess with me, punk. I asked you a question and you better answer it." Kanaye blocked the door, cracking his knuckles threateningly.

"Look, unless you want me to kick your ass again, step aside. Then again, you just cut my workout time by an hour and I could really use the exercise." I smirked. It was so easy to make him angry.

"Bring it, small fry." Kanaye chuckled. I tossed my bag to the ground and waited for Kanaye to make the first move. _An angered enemy will lash out on impulse, not thought._ Sure enough, Kanaye came barreling towards me with his fist outstretched. I dove out of the way, his fist just barely scraping my chin. "Dodging won't work this time!" he bellowed, coming at me again. I could hear Tomo shout from the room's corner, "Block!" I did as he instructed and put my arms in an 'X' shape and snapped them together to trap Kanaye's fist. I kept low and rammed my right knee into his stomach. Kanaye almost hit the floor, but regained his footing and kept his guard up when he literally jumped on me, wrestling me down to the floor.

"Bastard!" he screamed as he strangled me with a headlock. _I can't breathe!_ I rammed Kanaye in the chest with my elbow and rolled over; he released his grip on my neck. I pinned him on his stomach, gripped his arm, and twisted it behind him. I kept twisting until he started to squeal. "Ow! Okay! Okay! You win!" Kanaye was close to tears. I released him and got up, slinging my bag over my shoulder. "You should have moved." I grinned, walking out the door.

"That's my boy!" Tomo noogied me as we went out the school's side exit. I strode out to the parking lot, rummaging around in my bag for my keys. "Hey, isn't that Nozomi?" Tomo pointed to a girl leaning up against a red convertible.

"I think so…Wonder what she's doing here…"

"Go talk to her!" Tomo shoved me forward.

"No way!"

"Go on! Señor Meathead isn't here; it's your chance!" I sighed and meandered toward Nozomi. She was staring at the asphalt in boredom and checking her watch.

"Nozomi?" I said quietly. She actually seemed happy to see me.

"Taro! What a relief! Hana went home early and couldn't give me a ride, so I was going to wait for Kanaye. He has to clean the workout room for making the coach mad or something."

"Yeah I know… If you want, I can give you a lift. It sure beats sitting in the parking lot forever." I laughed. "Thanks Taro." Nozomi let out a relieved sigh as I led her to Kisho; Tomo gave me a thumbs up and winked as we drove out of the parking lot.

"Thanks Taro. I owe you one!" Nozomi smiled as she hopped off Kisho.

"It's good that we're neighbors." I smiled back, trying my best not to blush.

"See you later!" she waved and walked through her front door. Tomo came up behind me and smacked me in the back of the head.

"What was that for?" I screamed at him.

"For not asking her out, dummy!"

"She has a boyfriend!" I shook my head and marched into the house with Tomo at my heels.

"What are you doing home so early? I thought you were at school?" Mom asked when I came in and dropped my backpack by the door.

"I decided to come home early; I'm really tired." I yawned. Mom put the back of her hand on my forehead and frowned.

"You look a little flushed, sweetie. Maybe you should take it easy for a few days." Mom cooed, stroking my forehead lovingly. I brushed her hand away and grinned. "It's just hot outside. You worry too much."

Author's Corner

Hee hee. I was a little sugar-high when I wrote this chapter, so that might be why some parts might be…strange. I love the phrase 'evil grapevine'. It just sounds funny. ((convulsive laughter)) Whoo! Well, as promised, here's the 'soundtrack' to "Samsara". Sorry it's so long:

"Going Down in Flames": 3 Doors Down

"Build God, Then We'll Talk": Panic! At the Disco

"Pain": Jimmy Eat World

"Patron Saint of Liars and Fakes": Fallout Boy

"Let Go": Frou Frou

"My Bloody Valentine": Good Charlotte

"View From Heaven": Yellowcard

"Just Communication": Two-Mix

"End of All Hope": Nightwish

"Cardboard Castles": Diana DiGarmo

"A Box Full of Sharp Objects": The Used

"Pretty Girl": Sugarcult

"Not Gonna Get Us": TATU

"Frontline": Pillar

"Smooth Criminal": Alien Ant Farm

"Lucky St.": Cartel

"Who I am Hates Who I've Been": Reliant K

"These Walls": Trapt

"Harder to Breathe": Maroon 5

"For You I Will": Teddy Geiger

"Iris": The Goo-Goo Dolls

"Just the Girl": The Click Five

"Move Along": The All-American Rejects

"The Hell Song": Sum-41

"Over It.": Anneliese Van Der Pol

"Lullaby for a Stormy Night"?

"Crawling in the Dark": Hoobastank

"Tous Les Secrets de Ton Coeur/ Let Your Heart Decide": Celine Dion


	7. Operation: Information

**Chapter Seven: Operation: Information, ****操作信息**

"_Do we really have to go through Mirkwood?" groaned the hobbit. "Yes, you do!" said the wizard, "if you want to get to the other side. You must either go through or give up your quest… There are no safe paths in this part of the world." – J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit_

"Okay, now let's try this _one_ more time…" Tomo sighed as he started the stopwatch. "Can't I relax for a …minute?" I huffed.

"The timer's going…" Tomo tapped the timer's glass screen lazily. I took a deep breath and ran towards the makeshift obstacle course we had designed at the park using the playground equipment. I took a running start to the swing set and landed on the seat on my stomach. As soon as the swing lurched forward I tucked into a ball and rolled onto the dusty ground, forcing myself to get up despite the muscle aches. I wanted to whine when I realized what part I was coming to: the monkey bars. But I couldn't just swing across them like you're supposed to, oh no, that'd be too easy. I had to _weave_ in and out of each bar like a snake. I climbed up the ladder and began to do the painful sequence. The first ten attempts had resulted in a lovely collection of bruises and cuts. I hoped that this one would be different. _Up…Down…Up…Down…Two more to go!_ I leaned forward going down a little too much and saw that I was going to fall…again. I fell headfirst, putting my hands out in front of me to cradle my fall. "OOF!" I grunted as I landed smack dab on my face, sending up swirling clouds of playground dirt. Tomo helped me up and shook his head.

"You _almost _had it!"

"Thanks Sherlock."

"Remember, it's all about balance--."

"Easy for you to say." I grumbled, caressing the new bloody gash on my arm.

"I guess we should call it a day. We need to clean you up before you get home…" Tomo grabbed my arm and guided me to the water fountains.

"Tomo, we've been training for, like, three weeks. Nothing has happened yet. I'm starting to think that everything is just a coincidence." I winced as I washed off the dirt and blood with murky playground water.

"You can never be too sure. And anyways, we're breaking into that guy's lab tomorrow and you need to be in top shape!"

"WHAT? You _still_ want to break into that lab? That's it; I'm officially declaring you insane." I shook my head, compressing the gash with my t-shirt. Tomo gripped my shoulders. "But just think of what we could learn!"

"Just think of what they'll do to us if we get caught!"

"Um…actually, only _you_ will get caught. I'm a ghost, remember?" Tomo pointed to his slightly transparent figure.

"Even further reason why I'm not going to do it."

Tomo sneered mischievously, the frightening glint returning to his eye. "Do you still have that ninja costume from Halloween?"

"Yeah, why?" I asked, realizing what Tomo's plan was. "I mean, _no_! I threw it out a long time ago!" I lied. "Let's go get you suited up." Tomo dragged me back all the way home.

"This is so wrong." I shook my head as Tomo slipped the ninja mask over my head. Mom and Dad had looked at me funny when I had walked in the door covered in dirt and blood from head to toe, but they didn't ask any questions. _They'd rather not know what goes on in a teenager's head._ Right now it was two in the morning and I began to question my sanity as I slipped into the tight-fitting ninja costume from last year's Halloween. Tomo shoved a mug of coffee in my hands, adding two extra spoons of sugar into it. "You need to be wide awake. And if Mr. Suzuki can go a week without sleeping on fifty-six cups of coffee, I'm sure you can go a couple of hours on just one."

"This is so wrong." I repeated as Tomo loaded a satchel with all sorts of equipment and god knows what else.

"Will you shut up? This mission is absolutely necessary." Tomo flung the bag into my arms and opened the window, tying one end of a rope to the latch and flinging it out. "Okay, Mr. Ninja. Let's see what you've learned." Tomo smiled as he triple-knotted the rope and tugged on it a few times to make sure it was tight enough.

"B-But…" I tried, but I couldn't find anything to argue with. I groaned and propelled down the thin rope as quietly as I could. Tomo didn't even bother using the rope: he just launched himself off the windowsill and landed on the ground before I was even halfway down. "Show-off." I muttered, cautiously hopping off the rope and onto the ground.

"Um…now what?" I shrugged. Tomo snuck through the shadows and dragged me behind him. "We break into Café Mew Mew. Let Operation 'Information' begin!" I could have sworn his eyes glowed with excitement. The café didn't look like anything grand in the way of security: no barbed wire, no cameras, no guard dogs. "Where's the lab at?" I breathed in Tomo's ear as we slithered around in the café's shadows. "It's underground."

"Then how am I supposed to get down there?"

"Watch and learn." Tomo's body collapsed into a thick white mist, clouding the entire area. _I can't see anything!_ Something tapped my shoulder and pushed me forward. "Oh, I see now…" I whispered, watching the mist remove an air vent covering and tossing it on the grass. Tomo's mist steadily emptied into the air duct; I clambered up the café's wall and gracelessly nose-dived into the shaft, cursing. "You're such an idiot." Tomo's voice airily mocked.

"Tomo, what exactly are you doing?" I asked.

"I can disperse my form. It's just in case there are some security cameras. Keep your wits about you, though; I can help you with infrared sensors, but I can't really do anything about weight sensors."

"Weight sensors?"

"There are pressure-sensitive panels under the floor and every time it senses weight, it measures it to make sure it's the approved weight that's been programmed into the sensors."

"So how am I supposed to get in this place if I can't touch the floor?" I blanched.

"You'll see." I could imagine Tomo's grin stretching across his face. _I can't believe I'm actually doing this. _I inched through the endless maze of air vents with nothing but Tomo's intuition guiding me. "We'll come in through that vent right down there." Tomo's mist took a sharp turn downwards.

"You've got to be _kidding_ me! I'll fall right through!" I whispered sharply as I attempted to slide down the slippery shaft.

"Climb down headfirst. When you get into the other room, get the rope from the satchel and tie it to something sturdy." Tomo instructed. I could just imagine the James Bond theme song playing as I crawled down the shaft like a drunken sloth. I pulled a long section of rope out of the satchel and secured it around the slot where the bolt went to hold in the air vent. Tomo sat the vent down gently on a desk in the corner of the spacious room.

"Climb down the rope and wait for my signal." Tomo whispered. I climbed down and waited for whatever signal Tomo could make as a mist. He floated to a panel in the far right corner, yanking out all the wires attatched to it but one. "I disabled the security system; you can come down now." I hopped onto the floor and took in the room. It sure wasn't like the laboratories that you always see in the movies with bubbling beakers everywhere, monsters in cages, and Mr. Hydes running amuck. All sorts of contraptions were carelessly stacked on high metal shelves, dusty machinery lay unused on the floor, cables and wires were everywhere sticking out in dangerous angles. The place was an extra tetanus shot waiting to happen.

"Tomo, how do you know how to break into buildings?" I asked.

"Well, it's actually pretty interesting--."

"Never mind. I don't think I want to know." I put my hand up. "So…exactly what are we looking for?"

"That." The mist sucked in and the regular Tomo pointed at the biggest computer screen I'd ever seen attached to an entire wall. He sat in the cushy leather chair sitting in front of the computer and typed in 'Mew Project'. A plethora of data popped up, including tons of video clips.

"Dude…Three hundred results?" Tomo gawked. On the other side of the lab we heard a door open and slam shut. We looked at each other and knew we were thinking the same thing: "Oh shit." Tomo pulled a UMD from the outer pocket of the satchel and stuck it into the computer's hard drive, telling the computer to copy all the files. _Hurry!_ The computer was amazingly fast and had half of the data saved in just a few seconds. Unfortunately we didn't seem to have any extra seconds to spare as the person's footsteps came closer. "Hide. I'll make a distraction. Get the disk and make a run for it. I'll meet you back at your house." Tomo whispered then collapsed back into a mist and floated towards whoever had come in. _'Copy Complete'_ popped up on the screen and the computer ejected the disk. I snatched it and stuffed it into the backpack, making a wild run for the rope. As I clambered up the rope I heard a man's voice. "What on Earth is that? Ow!" It sounded like Tomo had grabbed a piece of machinery and socked the guy in the head with it. I huffed as I stuffed the rope back into the satchel and commando-crawled through the maze of vents.

"If you ever make me do something like that again I swear I'll kill you!" I growled at Tomo as I tossed the ninja costume in my closet, hoping it would never see the light of day again.

"Yeah, but we got what we came for!" Tomo waved the UMD in my face. "Let's look at it!" Tomo said, excitedly going towards my laptop. I shook my head.

"It's four in the morning and I seriously need some sleep. We can look at it in the morning." I grumbled as I pulled the bed covers up to my chin. "Meanie." Tomo muttered under his breath.

**Café Mew Mew**

"Ryou! Ryou! Are you okay?" Keiichiro slapped Ryou's face a couple of times. "W…What?" Ryou grunted, rubbing a huge bump on his forehead and wincing.

"What happened?" Keiichiro helped Ryou to his feet.

"There was this…mist…and…it hit me with something…" Ryou breathed, looking around the lab. "Look for signs of an intruder." Ryou said suddenly, running over to the Master Computer. "Computer, show video feedback from your camera in fast forward from two A.M. to four A.M." Ryou commanded. On the computer a window opened, showing nothing in near the computer at two o'clock. It wasn't until about three thirty that something came up. "Computer, pause." Ryou grinned and pointed at the screen. "There are our infiltrators." Ryou analyzed the two figures: the one sitting in the computer chair looked pretty normal, except he was slightly see-through; probably a glitch in the film. The other, clothed in a ridiculous ninja outfit, stood behind the boy seated in the chair.

"_Dude…Three hundred results?_" the boy in the computer chair gazed at the screen intently. In the distance a door could be heard slamming. Both looked at each other and froze. "_Hide. I'll make a distraction. Get the disk and make a run for it. I'll meet you back at your house._" The boy in the computer chair whispered urgently. Ryou's eyes widened when he saw what the boy did next: his body dispersed into a cloud of white mist, going off-screen. The 'ninja' grabbed a UMD out of the hard drive and ran off-screen. "Computer, show security feedback during the same hours." Ryou said.

"_Feedback is not available._" The computer stated in its monotone voice. "What? What do you mean '_not available_'?" Ryou yelled.

"_Between the hours of two and four the security system was disabled and is still disabled._"

"Where was it disabled?"

"_Searching……Found. Security was disabled by the use of tampering with the fuse box wires._" Ryou slammed his fist on the keyboard and cursed loudly. "Computer, do a full scan of the lab for any foreign DNA." Ryou smiled crookedly. _They're not going to get away so easily._ A unit of robots was dispatched from the Master Computer; they began to comb over every inch of the lab, sweeping the floors for any hairs and scanning the floor for prints. "_Securibots have located a foreign eyelash. Would you like to scan it?_" the computer announced after just a few minutes."Yes." Ryou sat in his chair and looked up at the screen anxiously as the hair was scanned.

"_One match confirmed. Would you like to view the data file?_"

"Yes."

"_DNA belongs to Tokyo resident Taro Yamamoto. Seventeen years of age, attends Takashima High school, straight A's with the exception of English, owns a 2020 Kawasaki sport motorcycle, son of Kiyoshi and Komori Yamamoto._" The computer recited clearly. Ryou's eyes widened. _Kiyoshi and…Komori? _

"Computer, specify on subject's parents."

"_Kiyoshi Yamamoto: renowned researcher in genetics. Komori Yamamoto: Stay-at-home mother; also a songwriter._"

"Wait, this is Komori's _son_?" Keiichiro asked, aghast.

"I think it's time I said hello to the family." Ryou grinned.

Author's Corner!

UMD- Universal Media Disc (just in case you didn't know). I want a Securibot! They sound really cool!...Even though I don't think they've been invented yet…Oh well. I might not post the next chapter for a while, though. I need to write more of the story first and a few medical issues have popped up too. Oh! Just so there's no confusion (because I know someone is bound to ask): the Master Computer's camera is separate from the security mainframe, which is why it wasn't disabled ((smile)). ((Imagines Taro in ninja suit)) Pfft! Sorry, I couldn't resist.


	8. One More Time

**Chapter Eight: One More Time…, ****另外一次 **

"_Some say the world will end in fire,_

_Some say in ice._

_From what I've tasted of desire_

_I hold with those who favor fire._

_But if it had to perish twice,_

_I think I know enough of hate_

_To know that for destruction ice_

_Is also great_

_And would suffice." _–_Robert Frost, "Fire and Ice"_

"Taaaaroooo…Taaaaroooo, I'm cooooming for yoouuuuu!" Tomo hissed in my ear; something fuzzy was sitting on my nose.

"Wha? …AAH!" I screamed when I saw two wide gerbil eyes in my face when I woke. "TOMO! Stop doing that!" I yelled at Tomo as I snatched Salami and dropped him into his cage. "No more playing with the gerbil!" I wagged my finger in Tomo's face.

"I was just having some fun."

"Fun for _you_. Here, let's start going through the data." I grumbled and took a seat at my desk, powering up my laptop and sticking the UMD in the drive. "Let's check out the more recent files…" I muttered going down the list.

"Click on 'Mew Project K'!" Tomo pointed at the screen.

"Why?"

"K for Komori."

"You're crazy." I shook my head and clicked on the video file anyway.

"_I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but I created a sixth Mew, purely by accident, of course. She was my cousin that had been sent to Japan in hopes that her behaviour would improve. She worked in the café and one day discovered my lab and activated the machine and was turned into a bat Mew. She kept it a secret for quite a while, but no one can keep such a big secret for so long. With the help of Kish, Kiyoshi Yamamoto, and me, she was able to annihilate Ronin, an alien tyrant responsible for enslaving hundreds of planets during his campaign. His 'girlfriend' Yuri, however, was allowed to live after he was killed. I fear that in the future she will want her revenge, even though it doesn't seem in her nature."_ Ryou stated.

"Kiyoshi _Yamamoto!_" Tomo exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly like a sugar-high toddler.

"I guess it… _has_ to be true…" I admitted quietly.

"Maybe there's something in here that can tell us how to get you to transform into a Mew…!" Tomo adjusted the computer in front of him and scrolled down the long page of files. "…'Enemy Catalogue' (that could be useful)… 'Attack Patterns'…Here it is: 'Basic Mew Information'." Tomo opened the file. "Ooh…it's a video clip…"

A series of scenes recorded (presumably by the press) on tape of the first Tokyo Mew Mews played. One scene, however, looked like it had been filmed in the lab: one of the Mews stood a few feet from the camera, waiting expectantly. "_Okay…now!_" a younger version of Ryou's voice could be heard in the background. The girl closed her eyes and chanted, "_Mew Mew Metamorphosis!_" A bright beam of light encased her and in a matter of seconds a Mew stood before us on the screen.

"So the powers are activated by words?" Tomo observed.

**Yuri's Hideout, ****藏匿处**

"Have you made the final preparations?" Yuri asked, holding in her excitement. Jiro stood before her, fidgeting nervously.

"Yes…about that…"

"What?" Yuri snapped.

"…Our target knows our intentions."

"How?"

"I am afraid I am partly to blame. When I left the Otherworld I did not close the portal immediately. Ironically, a dead friend of our target escaped and managed to give a warning." Jiro explained.

"How much do they know?"

"All they know is that we are attacking, nothing else."

"Are you positive?"

"Absolutely." Jiro grinned, showing off his frighteningly white teeth. "However, there is still a catch that does not play in our favor."

"And it would be…?"

"Komori and Kiyoshi have had a child."

"Kudos for us. One more person to enjoy killing." Yuri folded her hands on her lap, swallowing her obvious jealousy.

"But the child is a Mew."

"_What?_ How?"

"Since Komori was a Mew, the gene was carried over to her offspring." Jiro shrugged. Yuri took a calming breath. "This means nothing. We'll kill them all the same."

**School, ****学校**

"Don't forget to buy your tickets to the Springtime Bash this Friday!" A hyper cheerleader squealed as she pranced up and down the tables at lunch.

"Do you want me to pull out her hair? It would probably make her shut up." Tomo grumbled, plugging his ears.

"I'm starting to think it's a good idea." I sighed, massaging my temples.

"Wait! That's just it!"

"Pulling out her hair?"

"No! You can take Nozomi to the dance! It's perfect!"

"You keep forgetting about Kanaye."

"Bah. Just hit him in the head with a frying pan, bound and gag him and lock him in a closet. Won't remember a thing." Tomo waved his hand.

"No thanks."

"Then how are you going to keep our promise if you're not willing to take a few risks?"

"I'm waiting for the opportune moment."

"And if this moment never presents itself…?"

"It will. Just be patient."

"Ugh! You're such a _moron_! _How is she going to know you like her if you never tell her?_" Tomo yelled, throwing his hands up in the air.

"I repeat: be patient. It's better to wait, trust me." I gave him a thumbs-up, ignoring the worried stares from the people at the adjacent table.

"Taro, maybe we should try to be a little more inconspicuous. Those people look pretty worried that you're talking to a person they can't see." Tomo muttered behind his hand. "I've already achieved 'Freak' status. 'Crazy' is only one more rung up the ladder." I yawned, my eyes following Nozomi take a seat next to Kanaye a few tables over. "You are pathetically pathetic." Tomo flicked me in the head.

**Yuri's Hideout, ****藏匿处**

"_Now_ is everything set?" Yuri growled at Jiro, starting to realize that hiring him could have been a fatal error.

"Yes, my lady. We strike immediately after twilight." Jiro grinned, pulling out a crystalline box from the inner folds of his foxtail coat and stroking it lovingly. There was something about looking at the box that sent chills through Yuri, probably because of the eye just below the keyhole that could look straight at you and make you feel completely awkward. This didn't bother Yuri _too_ much, of course. If you've seen one cursed box you've seen them all. Still, there was something undeniably creepy about the box.

"This had better be good." Yuri mumbled to herself. She was tentative to strike, especially since Jiro had told her practically nothing about the plan. _I still don't completely trust him. I'll have to log his strange behavior in my diary._

**Bay**

"Okay, let's try this _one more time_." Tomo yawned, looking over me.

"Can't we do…a different breathing exercise?" I gasped, barely keeping my face above the surface.

"What better way to test your lung capacity than swimming?"

"Tying rocks to my feet to make me sink is not swimming!"

"Whatever. It's an endurance test all the same. I'll come get you in five minutes." He shoved my head back under the water. _Dang! I didn't take a breath of air!_ I struggled to swim back up, but the stones dragged me down straight to the bottom. _Come on, legs! Lift!_ I squirmed about, kicking up a cloud of sediment and propelling my arms back. _Maybe I can get these rocks off my feet…_I bent over and began to gnaw on the ropes that secured the stones around my ankles. _Crap! I'm running out of air!_ _Come on, gotta hurry!_ I chewed on the salty ropes, seeing that they were slowly breaking apart. _That's it, just a little more…_ The rope loosened and the stone dropped onto the seafloor and freed my right ankle. _I think I can get up there now!_ I shoved my leg against the loose seafloor and propelled myself upward a few feet, desperately kicking and struggling to the surface. _Air!_

"Hey! You still have three minutes!" Tomo pointed at the timer in his hand.

"I," I panted, "I don't care! It's amazing that your 'Ultimate Training Program' hasn't killed me yet!" The water there was shallow enough to tread; I tiredly moped to shore and threw myself onto the cool grass.

"Woah, woah, woah! No breaks, Mr. Lazy!" Tomo shoved his foot into my side.

"_Training is over. I am going home._" I glared at Tomo, forcing myself to my feet and slipping my shirt over my head.

"What? Come on!"

"Look! It's almost ten o'clock. Mom's already worrying herself sick. And the fact that I'm coming home sopping wet and smelling like polluted water and dead fish won't help much either." I shook my head to dry off my hair.

"One more time! You have to get this right!"

"Why don't _you_ try it?"

"Duh, I'm a ghost. I don't breathe. It would be completely meaningless."

"No more training! I'm tired and hungry and most of all, pissed!"

"_Taro_…!"

"I mean, I haven't even seen the 'weird guy' that can 'collect spirits'. Blah blah blah! I am so sick of all this crap!"

"T-Taro….!"

"It's too late for excuses! You're just sitting there doing absolutely nothing while I'm breaking my back doing a completely asinine exercise that you make up off the top of your head!"

"_Taro, look at the water!_" Tomo turned as pale as a ghost could get and pointed a shaking finger at the water.

"What in the world--?" I turned around and gaped. The water was…glowing! "Please tell me that there's a logical explanation for that." I muttered, staring weakly at the bay, which was a soft pulsing white instead of a hard sheet of midnight blue.

"As you know, science has never been my forte."

"All I can think of would be that someone did something weird to the seaweed or aurora borealis." I took a step back.

"Hello, stupid. Northern Lights in _Japan_?"

"I'm just throwing ideas out there! I say we get out of here!"

"Hey, wait a minute! I wanna check this out!"

"Are you crazy? What if the government is testing something?"

"Well if it's deadly I guess we'll find out since you just spent about four hours wallering around in it."

"Oh ha ha."

"…Um…what's that?" Tomo lifted his eyebrow, pointing out to the ocean. I squinted and saw something a few feet from the horizon line. "Tomo, is that…a person?"

"It looks like one... …_Uh-oh_."

"'Uh-oh'? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Come here." Tomo approached the water and stuck his hand in it. His hand turned the same eerie white and nearly collapsed into its fog form before Tomo withdrew it.

"Taro, you might want to figure out to summon your powers. Fast!" He grasped his hand in pain and gritted his teeth.

Author's Corner!

Oh my God, I actually used the word 'waller'. Heeheeheeehee!


	9. Wade in the Water

**Chapter Nine: Wade in the Water**

"_Life is but life, and death but death!_

_Bliss is but bliss, and breath but breath!_

_And if, indeed, I fail, _

_At least to know the worst is sweet._

_Defeat means nothing but defeat, _

_No drearier can prevail!" –Emily Dickinson, "Poem IV"_

_-_

"W-What's going on?"

"It looks like spirits have infected the water. _Lots_ of spirits. And considering the fact that they nearly took my hand off, I'd say that they're not the friendly kind either." Tomo sneered.

"_Infected_ the water? Can they do that?"

"Spirits have a lot of potential. Don't underestimate us. Try to transform. I can hold them off for a little while."

"Hold them off? They're just in the water; they're not going to do any damage to us."

"But they will once that guy shows up. All he has to do is give the order." Tomo put on a fighting face and stared at the spirit-water fiercely.

"Um o-okay. Uh…what did that girl say?"

"Something metamorphosis."

"Oh yeah! Mew Mew Metamorphosis!" I held my hand up. "Nothing's happening..."

"Taro!" Tomo growled over his shoulder as the water started to quiver with life. "All right, all right! Mew Mew Metamorphosis!" I repeated, losing all confidence when it failed to work.

"Keep trying!"

"Mew Mew Metamorphosis!" I yelled. _Why isn't it working? Maybe…maybe the gene didn't get carried down and this is just a waste of time?_ Something broke the water's shifting surface; something that apparently could stand on water.

"He's heeeere!" Tomo sang, waving his hand in front of my face to snap me out of my daze.

"I…I can't!"

"What do you mean 'you can't'?"

"I mean that I _can't_!"

"Yes you can! Stop fooling around!" Tomo snarled. The dark figure in the water held what looked like a box carved out of a clear rock, probably crystal, that poured a constant fluorescent stream of spirits into the ocean.

"You better be goddamn kidding." Tomo sighed. The person trod towards us confidently, staring at us like a cat does a cornered mouse.

"Thanks for saving me the trouble of finding you." The man grinned wickedly, shutting the box with a deathlike finality and pulling out a bow and arrow from his robe.

"Taro! Transform _now!_" Tomo whispered urgently. "I'm just a spirit; I can't hold this guy off for more than a few minutes!"

"I can't! I'm not a Mew!"

"Yes you are! Stop being such a wimp!" Tomo slapped my face. "You can at least _try_!"

"I am Jiro the Obake." the man paced surely atop the shimmering waves. It would have been a beautiful scene if it hadn't meant certain pain.

"Taro, I swear to god if you don't do something, _I'll_ kill you before he can!" Taro snapped. I gulped, clenching my fists to stop them from shaking. "Okay!" I breathed out. _I just need to concentrate._

Jiro raised a gloved hand; the souls swelled into a gigantic wave that loomed high overhead lit by shafts of haunting moonlight. Jiro flicked his hand towards Tomo and I; the spirits followed his hand motions and lurched towards us. "Taro! Wake up!" Tomo yelled. I froze in my tracks like a deer caught in headlights. _What should I do? I-I can't move…_It was hopeless; I was literally frozen stiff.

"Take that!" A voice a ways behind us yelled as a cluster of metal orbs whizzed over our heads. "What in the--?" The orbs flew into the mini tsunami and exploded on impact; the wave shuddered and fell apart as the souls shrieked in agony.

"I can tell you're new at this." The voice whispered into my ear; someone put their hand on my shoulder firmly. I whipped around quickly and gasped with a sick sinking feeling in my stomach.

"R-Ryou?" I muttered weakly. Ryou grinned crookedly as Keiichiro came to stand behind him, arms laden with explosives.

"We thought we'd try out our new toys." Keiichiro smiled, handing two of the explosives to Ryou.

"W-What…?...How did you….?" I scratched my head, staring from the water to Ryou and Keiichiro, not sure which questions to ask first.

"There's a reason people I'm classified as a genius." Ryou sighed. "Now how about Keiichiro and I show you how it's really done?"

Jiro's face contorted with rage as Ryou readied two more bombs to drop, crouching low by the shoreline. Ryou sneered and hurled one explosive at the Yuurei.

"What are those things?" I whispered to Keiichiro as Ryou launched the second bomb at Jiro. "Smoke grenades." He chuckled.

"_Smoke grenades?_ How in the _hell _are they going to--?"

"Shh. We'll explain everything later." Keiichiro slapped his hand over my mouth like it was some big secret.

Jiro wasn't expecting for such a blatant attack; the grenade detonated right at his heels and kicked up a torrent of water, and yowling spirits with it. He recoiled and clutched his injured leg, cursing loudly. A low growl escaped his icy white lips as he reached in his foxtail robe and produced the crystal box. "Retreat!" Jiro scowled, collecting the remaining spirits while clutching his leg. "I won't underestimate you again. Consider this your only warning." He chuckled darkly as he enveloped himself in waves, and disappeared.

"I could've taken him…" Tomo pouted, crossing his arms at his chest.

"Now then," said Ryou, standing up and brushing himself off, "We have a few more orders of business to attend to."

**Café Mew Mew**

"Would you like some tea to warm you up?" Keiichiro asked gently as he wrapped an itchy wool blanket around my shoulders. "N-No thanks." I shivered. We were in the office at Café Mew Mew, although without the cheerful stream of daylight through the Venetian curtains, it was almost menacing sitting in the dark with nothing but the orange glow and crackling of the fire. Ryou leaned against the edge of the metal desk, half his face immersed in shadows. _I wonder if he knew we broke into his lab?_

"All right. So now we've found the enemy and what weapons seem to work," Ryou mused aloud, "But what should we do with you two?" Ryou studied us for a minute, forehead creased in thought.

"You're not human, are you?" he finally said to Tomo.

"Well duh," Tomo rolled his eyes, "I'm a spirit." Ryou didn't look surprised.

"I thought as much. Now Taro… Taro, Taro, Taro." Ryou looked me up and down; at the moment I wasn't exactly the most glorious sight, shivering like a soggy dog left out in the cold. "I want to know _why you broke into my lab!_" Ryou slammed his fists on the desk. _I guess he found out._

"Um, well, it's actually a funny story….Um…Eheh." I laughed nervously. There was no getting out of it.

"I'd love to hear it." He clenched his teeth.

"I…uh…I don't think you'd believe me." I shook my head. I wasn't even sure if I was a Mew and I still refused to admit it to anyone until there was physical proof.

"Taro, we just attacked a hostile alien and ghosts with smoke grenades." Keiichiro pointed out as he poured tea into four cups on a tray by the desk.

"I don't really…I…"

"He's a Mew and I found out about that weird spirit dude so we broke into your lab to get information on Mews and to see if you knew anything about the dude." Tomo explained abruptly.

"Tomo!"

"What? He was gonna pull it out of you anyways." Tomo shrugged. The anger on Ryou's face melted away in an instant and an amused smile took its place.

"Just as we thought, Keiichiro." He chortled, shaking his head.

"_I'm not a Mew!_" I yelled defiantly. "Actually, I think you just might be. Why don't we go down to the lab and do a simple blood test?" Ryou challenged. "Fine!" I huffed.

"I'll bet you ten bucks that you're wrong." Tomo offered snidely as Ryou slid the syringe's needle under my skin.

"I'll take that bet." I grumbled as the syringe filled with blood. _I just want to get some sleep._

"Let's see what we've got..." Ryou extracted the needle, dabbed my arm with alcohol and took the full syringe to the Main Computer. He inserted it into a cylindrical hole in the computer and turned it ninety degrees clockwise to lock it in place.

"Computer, analyze DNA sample. Specifically identify animal genes in the genotype." Ryou commanded.

"_Analyzing._" The computer announced. On the screen the image of a DNA chain appeared; a few rungs were highlighted in vibrant red. "Animal traces found in the genotype. DNA confirmed to belong to _Felis Margarita_. Read the file on _Felis Margarita_?"

Tomo jumped up and down screaming like a deranged monkey. "I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! YOU OWE ME TEN BUCKS! WHOOOOO!"

"View file." Ryou said, ignoring Tomo's idiocy. _That computer has to be broken!_

"_Felis Margarita, otherwise known as the sand cat. Indigenous to African and Asian deserts. Hides under rocks during the daytime and hunts for rodents, lizards, and insects at nighttime. Conservation Status: Near threatened._"

"That's weird. Komori was a bat..." Keiichiro said thoughtfully.

"Komori…Hoshi?" I wheezed, feeling the beginnings of panic settle into my chest.

"Well, now it's not Hoshi anymore, of course. But yes." Ryou grinned. "I think I need to…sit down." I rasped. My head felt like it wasn't attached to my body anymore; everything seemed to fade away.

"……..Oh my god, did he faint?"

"I think so."

"Maybe we should've broken it to him a different way?"

"Too late for that now. Just slap him around until he comes to."

"I'm awake! I'm awake!" I yelled, opening my eyes and seeing Tomo's fist two inches from my face.

"Are you okay?" Ryou helped me sit up.

"Y-Yeah."

"Sorry to rush you, but it's really late and we need to get you home. I know Komori'll be worried about you. We'll meet up later tomorrow. Up you go…" Ryou and Keiichiro helped me to my feet.

**Home, ****回家**

"Freeze, mister!" Mom caught me by the arm as Tomo practically carried me up the stairs.

"Oh, hello." I smiled; Tomo cursed under his breath.

"It's _twelve thirty_! Your curfew is _nine_!"

"I know, I just lost track of time. I promise it won't _ever_ happen again." I tried to escape.

"Not so fast. What happened to you? You're all wet…and you smell like dead fish." Mom wrinkled her nose.

"I went swimming."

"Swimming? Where?"

"The bay."

"You spent the entire day swimming in the bay?"

"Yep." I nodded. Mom looked at me for a minute and sighed. "I'll let it slide this time. But next time I'm not going to be nice, got it?" Mom wagged her finger in my face. "Understood."

**School, ****学校**

"Did you hear? That old bridge at the bay got demolished last night!" A girl exclaimed to her friends at the table to my right.

"What? How?"

"No one knows! Here, look at this!" the girl placed a newspaper on the table for all to see.

"Don't look now, but I think we just became secret celebrities." Tomo muttered out of the corner of his mouth as he played with a straw wrapper.

"Yeah. I guess the spirits must've done it. I wouldn't put it past them." I yawned.

"But don't you think we would've noticed?...What? Don't tell me you're already sick of playing superhero?"

"Nah, I'm just really tired. Not to mention all those bruises from 'training'." I rubbed my arms.

"You call those bruises? Those are nothing compared to what I got!" Tomo pointed to the deep cuts on his arms water.

"That's what you get for sticking your hand into that water. Wait--how can you get hurt if you're a ghost?"

"Ghosts can attack ghosts."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Hey, here comes Nozomi!"

"Great."

"Aren't you going to ask her to the Bash?"

"She's going out with Kanaye!"

"So?"

"I'm amazed at your stupidity."

"I might be stupid but at least I'm not the loser who drools day and night over a girl but doesn't have the guts to do anything about it!" Tomo stuck out his tongue.

"I've done something!"

"Bumble like an idiot?"

"No! I've talked to her and I even gave her a ride home!"

Tomo shook his head and slapped his forehead. "Whatever you say." Nozomi and Kanaye sat at their usual table. My blood boiled as Kanaye wrapped his arm around Nozomi's tiny waist.

"It would be really easy for me to take him out…" Tomo smiled impishly.

"We're not going to do anything to him. Oh, here, I printed off a picture of a sand cat from the library." I pulled a picture from my pocket and showed it to Tomo.

"That's one weird-looking cat! Its head is too big for its body!"

"No, the fur just grows that way. It's about the size of a small housecat."

"Hm…after you get past the weird head it's kinda cute. Do they eat gerbils?""

"Yup! It's one of their favorite foods."

**Yuri's Hideout, ****藏匿处**

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Yuri hissed, taking a few steps toward Jiro.

"The target was stronger than I anticipated. I used the lower-level Yuurei and they were defeated easily." Jiro muttered. Yuri clenched her fists and grabbed Jiro by the neck.

"Are you saying that they _GOT AWAY_?" Yuri shrieked, her eyes burning with fury as she shook him side to side.

"Could you please release me? …Thank you. I can assure you that next time they will not be underestimated. Besides, now we know what they are capable of." Jiro grinned.

"You said this would be quick and easy. I'm beginning to question your reliability." Yuri twirled her fingers. Small flames danced about her fingertips. "Perhaps I should just take care of them myself."

"That is not necessary. I assure you that next time they will not get the upper hand. We will strike in a more…secretive manner of a much higher caliber." Jiro ran his spidery fingers down the shaft of an arrow. "We'll see." Yuri grumbled.

Author's Corner!

Sorry about taking so long on the chapter, guys. I had to write a long IWA for English and my head's not doing too well either. Heh. Anyways, one thing I realized about Tomo is that he's actually pretty smart (not when it comes to thinking situations through, such as racing and sticking his hand in 'radioactive' water quoth Shiru23454; that comment totally cracked me up. Really made my day Shiru23454!).Yay for comic relief! BY THE WAY! ON MY XANGA ARE A FEW PICS OF THE CHARACTERS. IT'S THE LINK ON MY FANFICTION USER PROFILE.

I'm trying to keep this more structured than "Held Loosely". There won't be as much 'aimless wandering' chapters (that I like to post because I like making characters do stupid things, like going to the 'haunted' trinket shop. _That_ was really fun to write. "_I feel like the little ceramic cats are staring at me!_").


	10. Drugs Aren't Always 'Bad', Just Funny

**Chapter Ten: Drugs Aren't Always 'Bad', Just Entertaining ****药是不一定坏的只是娱乐**

School couldn't have ended any slower. People were in an uproar about the collapsed bridge; I felt like convict on the run, even though I wasn't the one to do it. Tomo strided ahead of my loping pace to Kisho, which was parked in the far left corner of the school parking lot.

"Hey! A limo!" Tomo pointed ecstatically as a sleek black vehicle pulled into the lot.

"That's weird. This isn't exactly the classiest place in Tokyo." I commented, yawning widely. The limo pulled up to the curb in front of us and rolled its right passenger window down.

"Ryou?" Tomo and I gasped. _This guy sure is full of surprises._ Ryou grinned brilliantly and swung the door open. "Hop in."

"We've already got a ride." I dangled my keys in his face.

"Shut up Taro." Tomo shoveled me into the limo. "H-Hey!"

"Never refuse a ride, Taro. It's rude." Tomo chuckled sarcastically.

"Komori thinks you're staying after school for English tutorials." Ryou said, leaning into the plush leather seats and motioning to Keiichiro to start the car.

"And…what am I really doing?" I asked slowly.

"Let's just say we're giving you a superhero crash course." Keiichiro grinned.

**Café Mew Mew**

"Right," Ryou rubbed his hands together, looking over the lab, "Where should we start?"

"If you don't mind, I have a lot of questions I'd like to ask." I suggested.

"Question away." Ryou smiled, taking a seat at the Master Computer.

"First, how are stupid smoke grenades going to work against the spirits? I mean, I can't even comprehend…" Ryou put his hand up to stop me.

"Do you know what ectoplasm is?"

"Yeah…you're not saying it exists…?"

"Of course it does. Smoke grenades contain hydrochloric acid; I found that it can dissolve ectoplasm. So all we did was triple the acid amount in the grenades and viola. But it only works on the ectoplasmic Yuurei; it's just wasteful on any other types."

"_Types_? You mean there are _more_ than just those weird cloudy ones?" I blanched.

"Well, yeah. You didn't know that?"

"No!"

"Oh. Now you do. Next question." Ryou waved his hand lazily.

"All right…Um, how did you figure out about Jiro?"

"It's not Jiro that we're really worried about; Yuri's the one we need to be concerned with. I'm betting Jiro's her henchman."

"Okay, how did you find out about Yuri?"

"Find out? Heck, I've been expecting it ever since I saw her face when Ronin died. Turns out that my hunch was right." Ryou sighed. "We left sensors all over Tokyo and the other day one of them found some highly concentrated activity. The sensors were designed for aliens, not ghosts, so at first it was a little difficult to figure out the readings, but eventually we caught on."

"Hey! I have a question!" Tomo raised his hand.

"What?"

"Why can't Taro transform? I mean, even when he's in a life-threatening situation he can't. Do you think there's something… _wrong_ with him?" Tomo poked my arm cautiously.

"I thought it was strange that he hadn't changed…" Ryou turned me round. "Where's your mark?"

"Mark?"

"Yeah, you know, a marking that appeared after the gene should have activated." _Is he talking about the 'tattoo'?_

"There should be something on my neck." I mentioned; Ryou latched on to my head and pushed it forward to inspect the mark. "Yeah, something's not right. The marks are supposed to be colored; this one's still black. Take a look at it, Keiichiro…"

"What do you want me to do? Get a Sharpie and color it in?" Keiichiro shrugged.

"Just come look at it." Ryou growled.

"Hm. I see what you're saying…Do you think there's a possibility that he's not fully activated?" Keiichiro suggested, groping the mark in a totally awkward way.

"Please stop talking about me as if I'm a robot." I sighed blandly. Ryou ignored me.

"You know, that might be it. To fully activate him we'd need to hook him up to the…machine." Ryou's eyes got distant for a moment as he stared off into the air.

"What machine?" I panicked. "The Mew machine." Keiichiro grinned, slapping Ryou firmly on the shoulder to snap him back to reality. "Right then," Ryou coughed into his hand, beckoning us to follow him, "This way."

I had to be honest: the machine scared the hell out of me. It was sat in the far corner of a musty storage room, taking up a majority of the floor space. Five long, thick metal prongs stuck into the air, coated with years of dust and scratches. Ryou and Keiichiro had rolled in a white gurney, pushed me down onto it, and hooked wires on me in the oddest places.

"Um, is this going to hurt?" I asked weakly, watching Ryou prepare a thick six inch needle to an IV.

"Do you want me to lie?"

"N-N-No."

"It's going to hurt quite a bit. We have to use additional equipment since the machine doesn't run like it used to, and we're not sure how far we have to take the activation since you actually already have the gene in you. The main part's just getting the chemicals _into_ you." Ryou grinned, brandishing the needle like the mad scientist he was.

"Ryou, quit it; you're scaring him." Keiichiro nudged Ryou in the side.

"I wanna inject the needle! I wanna inject the needle!" Tomo chanted happily as he reached for the clunky needle in Ryou's hands.

"Cut it out!" I grumbled, unconsciously planning an escape route. If I could manage to break the gurney's straps over my abdomen and limbs, that is.

"No, seriously, I _really_ want to. Pleeeeeaaaaaase?" Tomo begged Ryou with puppy dog eyes.

"Why not? Less work for me." Ryou handed Tomo the needle and shrugged, going to the front of the machine and powering it up. "Inject it in the right common carotid artery; just sort of shove it in there really fast so he doesn't scream." Ryou pointed to a section of my neck like a vampire choosing his lunch. I whimpered and tugged at the gurney straps. Tomo turned to me and sneered menacingly, raising the needle far above his head and flinging it into the right side of my neck before I could even think about screaming.

"GODDAMMIT TOMO!" I screamed as Ryou joined Tomo in an evil laugh as he taped the IV down to my neck. The pain was sharp and almost metallic; I could feel the needle sitting in my neck, positive that Tomo hadn't injected it properly.

"Did it hurt?" Tomo snickered.

"IT _STILL_ HURTS!"

"Well, that's no reason to get snippy." Tomo crossed his arms and stuck out his tongue.

"If you are quite done torturing Taro, let's get on with this, shall we?" Keiichiro cleared his throat and took his position in front of a control board they connected to the machine.

"Actually, can I have a couple more minutes?"

"No." Keiichiro sighed, dragging Tomo away from me and forcing him into a chair by the door. "The machine has full power. Everything's ready whenever you are, Ryou."

"Right." Ryou suddenly got serious after having a convulsion of laughter over my virtual stab wound. "Taro, the first fluid going into the IV is going to be a dose of hydrocodone and ibuprofen. One dose of this stuff and you won't be able to feel your face for two days." He explained as he tied a bag full of clear liquid at the top of the IV rod. The fluid traveled quickly through the tube and into my neck.

"Why is it in my neck?" I asked, the happy drug-induced fog beginning to creep over me, slurring my speech.

"It's where one of the biggest veins in your body is. It also flows directly to your brain, which is where we want the activation genes to travel to more than anywhere else. It imprints it in a way, and stores information--."

I couldn't remember anything after that. Everything was just a wonderfully hazy dream world of grey. A sharp jolt of pain flittered across my neck and something shook my shoulder furiously.

"Taro! Hey, Taro! Get up, you druggie!" Tomo's voice called. _What? But Ryou just started the IV! Why do you want me to wake up? I wanna sleep…_

"WAKE UP NOW OR I'M RE-INSERTING THE NEEDLE!" Tomo hissed into my ear. My eyes immediately sprung open and I squinted against the bright fluorescent lights shining from the ceiling. _Where am I? I'm not at home…_ I couldn't honestly say where I was, I didn't have any memory of anything. The faces looking down upon me were horrifically blurred, as if a wet paintbrush had been smeared across a watercolor painting.

"I guess that's one way to wake him up." Keiichiro's voice chuckled. He grasped my wrist to check my heart rate. "Jesus, Ryou! You can't use such a big dose on a teenager! It'll take a while for his heart to get up to pace at this rate…"

"What should we do when we get him home? His mom's going to think he's been out doing drugs…illegally, that is."

"Oh, I didn't think about any of that…" Ryou thought airily.

"W…Wuh time uhs ut?" I croaked.

"Uh…five thirty-ish. The activation went excellently. Take a look at yourself." Ryou handed me an elaborately decorated pink hand mirror. _I don't think I want to know where he got that from…_ My hand felt as if it were slipping through pudding as I grasped the mirror harder than usual, unable to trust my body in this state.

"………" I couldn't speak. I wanted to lift my other hand to caress my new ears, but for some reason I couldn't move anything. I just sat there like a zombie, staring blankly at the mirror in horror and fascination.

"Woah, his heart just skipped a beat!" Keiichiro gasped, looking over my face like a worried mother.

"I have...cat ears…?" I said blankly, managing to brush my fingers across the brown fur on my ears, finding my human ones had been completely replaced. The cat ears were keener; I could hear little noises that humans wouldn't normally be able to pick up, like the steady swoosh of air through the air vents and the now-loud breathing of Ryou and Keiichiro (Tomo didn't breathe).

"Actually, that's not all that changed. Check out your new outfit." Ryou pointed down towards my body, grinning proudly. I looked myself over in amazement. I was wearing completely different clothes: the shirt was a high-collared zip-up vest made from brown leather, with two thick strips of black leather forming a giant 'X' across the midriff; the pants had at least twenty belt loops, were made of the same soft brown leather as the shirt, had sandy-colored bondage straps connecting in the back, and had three black leather stripes down each leg; on my left arm was a brown and black leather gauntlet with buckles all over it; on the top of each of my arms and my neck was a thick metal bangle.

I was only able to utter one syllable, "Oh." Tomo grinned. "Now you owe me ten bucks _for sure_."

"I guess we should call it a day. We can't do much while he's in his own little world." Ryou grinned.

"…I'm not…human. Mom'll freak out…" I mumbled as Tomo helped me to my feet. My balance was way off and I felt myself almost fall to the side, if it hadn't been for Tomo holding me up.

"Hey, I have a tail." I giggled, pointing at my tail.

"Oh, we still have to get him to transform back…" Ryou bit his lip.

"Are you saying he _can't_?" Tomo's jaw dropped and gave Ryou a murderous glare.

"Uh…well, he could if he was 'all here', but seeing as I gave him a little bit too much codeine…"

"THEN WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO, GENIUS?" Tomo bonked Ryou on the head in frustration.

"Hey, I have an idea." I grinned. I couldn't help but giggle a little; the codeine still seemed to be going on strong. "Heheheh. I could…heheheh…heh…wear a hat…Heheh, and a….Hahahaha!..."

"Uh…" Tomo just stared at me, somewhat pitifully.

"S-S-Sorry…eheheh…I could wear a hat…hee hee hee…and a, you know, big jacket or… something. Pfft." I finally concluded.

"Taro, right now your credibility in a conversation is very limited." Tomo patted my head.

"Do you have a better idea?" I had to breathe deeply to stifle the giggles.

"Maybe we could tape your ears down and--."

"No." Ryou held his hand up. "Let's look over all the blatantly idiotic suggestions right now to save ourselves the trouble. Taro's is probably the best we're going to come up with. I've got something like at my place somewhere. It should be about the right size…"

**Home**

"Hey, Taro, how were tutor--_What on earth are you wearing?_" Mom exclaimed after she saw me hiding under the cover of a billowing black trench coat and hat. Tomo had been huddling towards the back of the coat and had made it look like we were a monstrously obese hunchback casually walking down the sidewalk; now he was to my right, helping me walk and speaking for me.

"Eh. I was in a mysterious mood today." Tomo cleared his voice and mimicked mine almost perfectly. "Uhhh…o-kay." Mom slowly inched away.

Tomo dragged me up to my room with ease. I fell onto my bed, immediately snuggling into the covers, vaguely aware I still wearing the bizarre outfit. "Geez, that stuff really knocked you out, didn't it?" Tomo marveled, snatching the hat off my head and removing the thick jacket.

"You are never allowed to give me an IV ever again for as long as I live, however short that will be." I grumbled.

Author's Corner!

Sorry it took so long to put this chapter up; I've been working on my DN Angel fanfiction and then there's this big mess at school about transferring into IB classes. Heheheh. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to write this chapter. XD If Taro were real he'd probably beat me up for all the stuff I do to him. I guess he could've gotten the IV in his arm, but that just wouldn't have been as fun to write, now would it?

I'm not sure when the next chapter's going to be up, but I have a feeling it'll be up from 3 days to a week; it just depends how many distractions I run into. Tune in for the next chapter, where things get a little bizarre... O.O


	11. The Spring Bash

Chapter Eleven: The Spring Bash 斯普林猛击

_"Those in the grip of a strong drug---heroine, devil grass, true love---often find themselves trying to maintain a precarious balance between secrecy and ecstasy as they walk the tightrope of their lives."  
Wizard and Glass The Dark_ _Tower__ Series, Number IV_

_- _

"Hey, Mr. Sleepy Butt! WAKE UP!"

"Mmph…Five more minutes, Tomo…"

"No way! Today's the Bash and you need to ask Nozomi before it's too late!"

"…What? You're still prattling about that? Ugh…"

"GET UP NOW!" Tomo squealed, yanking the comforter off me and pushing me onto the floor.

"Ow!" I yelled. Salami squeaked in his cage cheerfully at the chaos. "You stay out of this!" I snapped, pulling myself up and yawning. Tomo shoved a pile of clothes into my arms and ran a comb through my mop of dark brown hair. I noticed that I was back to my human form, ears and all. _I must've transformed back when I was asleep._

"You gotta look good if you want the girl." Tomo grinned and gave me a thumbs up like some sort of cheesy car salesman.

"Whatever." I grunted, slipping on my clothes slowly and staring at the clock.

"Tomo! Why the hell did you wake me up at four?"

"Early boy gets the toy." Tomo winked.

"…..I don't even _want_ to know what that means."

**School**

"Good afternoon, class. I am Mr. Satou and I will be your substitute." A young man with strange grey and white hair announced in front of my science class.

"But…what happened to Mr. Suzuki?" Big-mouthed Ami asked from the back of the room. A look of confusion passed Mr. Satou's face for a second, but then was replaced by a brilliant smile.

"Mr. Suzuki is not…_feeling well_. And no, I do not know when he will be returning." Mr. Satou answered Ami's next question.

"I guess they finally dragged him off to the Looney Bin." Tomo muttered behind his hand. Mr. Satou's glacial-blue gaze paused directly on me, and then swiftly darted to my left side, directly where Tomo sat. _I'm just imagining it. Only I can see Tomo at school._ His eyes were terrifying. Something about the icy pure blue of his irises made my heart skip a beat. _It's just me, it's just me._ As soon as it had fallen upon me, his gaze drifted away, leaving me completely frozen. My teeth began to chatter slightly and I wrapped my arms around my torso.

"Okay, okay! How about this: we find Nozomi and casually bring up the dance in the conversation, then while you're talking to her I'll find Kanaye and hit him with something heavy, then I'll find some random closet--."

"No." I stopped Tomo in mid-sentence as we strode down the hallway towards the cafeteria for lunch. I was still chilled from my encounter with Mr. Satou's frightening eyes. I was afraid of what his voice was capable of doing.

"Hey, are you all right? You're shivering…"

"N-No…"

"…"

"It's that substitute. He really scares me."

"Look, his hair's just like that because of premature aging."

"No! It's everything! He's just a really creepy person!"

"Maybe your cat instincts are being weird. Cats _are_ high strung." Tomo shrugged.

"Ugh, it's hard to explain."

"Hold it! There's Nozomi! Go for it, man!"

"But she's sitting with Kanaye!"

"So? You've beaten him up a couple of times."

"It's just against the rules, Tomo."

"What rules?"

"The rules that say you can't take another guy's girlfriend!"

"But he's a jerk!"

"That doesn't make a difference!"

"Hurry up and go!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

Yes!"

"NO!" I hadn't realized it, but Tomo was slowly backing me towards the corner of the cafeteria where Nozomi sat with Kanaye.

"Uh, Taro?" Nozomi asked cautiously as I bumped into the end of their table. Kanaye was displeased to see me, put politely. "Who are you talking to?"

"Me? Uh…I was just…reciting some lines from a play!" I lied quickly.

"Oh, are you in the play this year?"

"No, I just…randomly like to quote things. Sometimes I get a little too into it." I tried to smile to hide the tinge of pink on my cheeks.

"Are you going to the Bash? I heard it's supposed to be really good this year. The theme's Springtime or something."

"Ah, no, I'm not going. I've got a lot of stuff to get done." I tried to look disappointed for Tomo's benefit, but he just kicked me in the shin.

"Aw, that's too bad." Nozomi chuckled.

"Not like he'd be able to get a date anyway." Kanaye snickered.

"Kanaye!" She squinted at him angrily.

"Eh, it's okay. I guess I'll see you later…" I said awkwardly. Nozomi had apparently stopped listening and was in the beginnings of an argument with Kanaye.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? ARE YOU HORMONALLY-DEFICIENT?" Tomo whacked me in the head repetitively with a plastic fork after we took a seat outside for lunch. I wanted to get as far away as I could from Kanaye and Nozomi.

"No!"

"WELL IT SURE SEEMS THAT WAY SINCE YOU KEEP ACTING LIKE A FREAKING PANSY!"

"I'm not a pansy!...I'm more of a dandelion…"

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear you say that."

**Home**

"I'm not going, and that's final!" I screamed at Tomo as I walked in the door, slamming it behind me.

"Hey, Taro! C'mere a minute!" Mom beckoned from the living room.

"What?" I asked grumpily. _I don't feel like dealing with you…_

"Isn't that Spring Bash thing tonight? I heard Nozomi talking about it…"

"And?"

"Well, aren't you going?"

"Of course not!"

"What? Why not?"

"I'm tired."

"That's not a good excuse. You need to get out of the house. You look all…blah."

"Trust me, all I need is a good night's rest and I'll be good as--."

"Nuh-uh. I'm not going to let you get off the hook that easily. This is payback for breaking your curfew."

"Are you…making me go?" I asked incredulously. Most parents grounded their kids, but it seemed mine just sent me to school functions.

"Absolutely! You need something to lift your spirits."

**School, Nine o'clock**

"I feel utterly ridiculous." I growled as Tomo dragged me through the gym doors. Inside the pleasant sound of music and laughter mingled with peppy decorations and made it even harder for me to walk in. The last thing I wanted to be right now was sociable. It would be hard to enjoy myself with everyone staring at me (some people hadn't gotten over the whole Kanaye incident).

"Don't worry: you look utterly ridiculous too." Tomo joked, nearly barreling me into the table supporting the gigantic bowl of red punch.

"Ugh. I just want to be left alone; is it too much to ask for?" I pleaded to no one in particular, wanting to shout angrily at the heavens like in those weird European films. Tomo sighed and ruffled my hair. Mom had forced me into dressing up, also, and I felt more than just 'utterly ridiculous'; right now it was 'deadly embarrassment'. There was just something about a suit that made me feel like I was choking. Besides, suits make me look like a frog. I don't really know how, but they just do.

"Chill. For once just try being a normal teenager." Tomo breathed, happily taking in the atmosphere and grinning.

"I'm not a normal teenager in case you haven't noticed yet."

"Let's see: brown hair, two eyes, two ears, two arms, and two legs; you look normal to me."

"Tomo, most teenagers don't have ghosts for friends. Most teenagers don't fight against evil! Most teenagers do not have cat ears and a tail!"

"Well you're normal except for all of that superhero stuff."

"…Because it's _so_ insignificant." I grumbled.

I took my silent fuming to the far corner of the gym and leaned up against the wall, watching all the couples dance together, blissfully drifting away from reality. Amongst the swaying crowd I saw Kanaye with his arms wrapped around Nozomi's waist. She wasn't looking at him; only staring off into space. _Is she mad at him? _She looked dazzling dressed from head to toe in bright orange, with an orange hibiscus tucked behind her left ear. I felt a twinge of longing, but suppressed it. It seemed that my Superman story wouldn't have a Lois Lane starring alongside the hero. I guess that's the price of fantastic adventures and powers. I ripped my eyes from them, deeming it as too depressing, and stared off into the crowd of random people. On the opposite wall, Mr. Satou leaned against it just like I did, coolly relaxing his Medusa-like gaze directly upon the crowd with a slight smile tugging at his lips. _God, he's so creepy…_ A cold shudder passed up and down my spine and my teeth chattered when I remembered when I was on the receiving end of his glare.

As the song ended, Nozomi withdrew her hands from Kanaye's shoulders turned over her shoulder with tears streaming down her face, and ran out the open gym doors into the cool night. Kanaye just cursed and rubbed his temples, wondering what it was he'd done.

"Go after her, you nitwit!" Tomo broke his silence and shoved me towards the door.

"B-But--!"

"No excuses! Go after her, Prince Charming!" Tomo threw me out the door. I fell face first into the damp grass cursing under my breath. Under a street light a few feet from where I lay stood Nozomi, crying silently and sniffling every now and then. I glanced back at the doorway and tentatively inched towards her. _I look stupid in a suit! What if I smell weird or something!_

"N-N-Nozomi?" I stuttered, wringing my hands and self-consciously brushing the dirt and grass off my pants. She sniffled loudly and wiped the black streaks of mascara running down her face; she stared at me, her eyes blotchy and mouth turned down in an ugly frown. "Hey Taro." Nozomi whispered, looking down to the ground.

"Um…Are you okay?" _I doubt Prince Charming was this lame._

"Not really." She sniffed.

"Did…Kanaye do something?" I asked with a sense of dread. Nozomi didn't respond—or maybe she did; I couldn't hear anything over her animal-like yowl. She smothered her face in her hands and her shoulders heaved with each ragged sob. _Crap! What do I do now?_

_What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?_ I began to panic; it was obvious that Nozomi wasn't going to stop weeping any time soon.

"Get her out of here, idiot!" Tomo whispered into my ear.

"What?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Take her somewhere! Pronto!" Tomo nudged me.

"All right!...Uh, Nozomi?"

She continued to bawl. "Um…let's get you out of here, okay?" I took her by the elbow and lead her towards Kisho, draping my jacket over her and waving back at Tomo.

Nozomi didn't say anything as I drove Kisho down the nearly deserted highway, lightly clinging onto my waist, sniffling occasionally. _God, what am I doing? She has a boyfriend…_

_But right now she's mad at that boyfriend…_

_What? Ah, NO! NO, NO, NO, NO! It's wrong! _

_Aw, but it'd be fuuunnn._

_NO! _

_You want her, don't you?_

_Well, yeah…_

_And she's really pretty, too…_

_Yeah…_

It seemed that my inner hormone-crazed self was winning the mental tug-of-war against the morally-correct self. I had to smack my helmet to shake away the thoughts. I'd begun to discover that me and thinking weren't compatible friends.

**Home**

"You made him go to a dance? That's hardly going to help, Komori." Kiyoshi chuckled into the receiver. He contently sat in his lab chatting with Komori on the speaker phone as he jotted down some notes.

"What else can I do? I really think something fishy's going on."

"Like?"

"Like all the times Ryou didn't know I was a Mew and I went running around Tokyo attacking aliens!"

"Point taken. Do you think he has anything to do with that collapsed bridge? He was at the bay late that night, after all."

"And then there's that weird outfit he wore yesterday when he got home…I'm really worried about him. What if he's getting hurt?"

"Well, there is a way to find out, you know."

"What? How?"

"Ryou."

"Ryou? How's he supposed to know?"

"He's supposed to be keeping track of all non-human activity in Tokyo, right?"

"But he retired from that."

"He says he is, but do you honestly think he'd give everything up that easily? He probably just said it to get the media off him about the whole Mew Project fiasco."

"So what? Do we just go up to him and ask?"

"Yep."

**Café Mew Mew**

"Here we are." I announced quietly. Nozomi had stopped crying heavily; now it was just a few stray tears and some sniffling.

"It looks like a giant cupcake." She chuckled lightly as I helped her off Kisho and led her toward the doors.

"It only gets worse inside." I smiled. I had thought about taking her to the bay, but that wouldn't provide quite as many distractions as Café Mew Mew. _I hope it won't offer too many distractions._

I pushed open the café doors and heard Nozomi gasp delightfully at the café's insanely pink main room. It was surprisingly crowded for that time of night; a good half of the café was full of teenagers. Tomo tiptoed through the door behind us and flashed me a quick smile.

"WelcometoCafeMewMewMyname'sLeeI'llbeyourwaitresswhatcanIgetyou?" A hyper girl with two high ponytails spat out the words in one breath.

"Uhh…A table would be good."

"Okayrightthisway!" Lee gleefully skipped to an empty table in the far corner of the restaurant, slapped two frilly pink menus on the table, and skipped back to her post by the door. "That was…weird." I muttered, grinning slightly. Nozomi let out a small giggle and stared down at the table. Tomo came up behind me and nudged my shoulder.

"Do something!" he hissed.

"Like what?" I asked from the corner of my mouth.

"Something! Try to cheer her up!"

"What do you think I'm doing?" I growled a little louder than I intended.

"What?" Nozomi stared up at me patiently.

"Um…just reciting lines again!"

"You're a wacko."

"Yeah, I know." I grinned. To that she let out a loud laugh, her face brightening in an instant. Another ditzy-looking waitress half-tripped to our table, holding a pad of paper and a pen with a little heart bouncing around its top on a spring, smiling happily like a brainwashed zombie. "What can I get you?"

"I'll have a …parfait, I guess." I glanced down at the menu and picked the first thing my eyes drifted over.

"I'll just have a strawberry smoothie, please." Nozomi began to smile a little.

"We'll have it all out in a few minutes." The waitress half-giggled, gathering our menus and going to check on other customers.

"So," I began awkwardly, lacing my fingers together, "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

Nozomi twiddled her thumbs and the corner of her mouth wriggled slightly. "It's Kanaye. He's just…being a jerk."

"And that's different since when?" Tomo mumbled loudly. Nozomi chuckled slightly.

"I know he's not exactly a teddy bear, but he can be sweet when he wants to. But it's when he's in a bad mood that I just…can't stand him!" She sighed and put her face in her hands. She wasn't sad anymore; now she was mad.

"What did he do, exactly?" I asked. The same clumsy waitress stumbled to our table, slammed our food down happily and skipped off without another word. Nozomi slurped on her smoothie to buy time; I stirred my spoon in my parfait, waiting.

"He's been in a bad mood lately and picks fights over the stupidest things. He also has been making these rude remarks, like what he said to you at lunch. When we were dancing he was looking at me funny, and when I asked him why, he said," Her voice got deeper, "'Nozomi, orange makes you look really ugly.'" She almost started crying again, but quelled her tears with another slurp of her smoothie. My jaw felt like it was dragging on the floor.

"WHY WOULD HE SAY THAT? YOU LOOK GORGEOUS IN ANYTHING!" I blurted angrily. Behind me I heard Tomo cheer. Nozomi looked surprised for a moment, the smiled warmly. I could feel the familiar pink burning spread across my face. _Oh crap!_

"Thanks, Taro. I really needed to hear that. You know, you're a pretty cool--."

"Taro! What a surprise seeing you here!" Ryou exclaimed after stepping out of his office and seeing me. "Are you feeling better? You didn't pass out when you got home, did you?"

"Ryou, it's not a very good time--."

"What do you…? Ohhh…" Ryou paused, noticing Nozomi. "Hi there! I'm Ryou Shirogane, Taro's second cousin." Ryou shook Nozomi's hand. _He's trying to make me mad!_

"I'm Nozomi Matsu." Nozomi said politely, staring at Ryou as if he were mentally unstable. I silently signaled Ryou to go away by jerking my hand across my throat; behind me I could hear Tomo doing the same. Ryou pretended not to notice and went on.

"So Taro, how's your Mom?"

"She's _fine_." I grumbled. "Ooh, grumpy today, aren't we?" he teased.

**Home**

"I'm sorry about Ryou..." I tried to smile as I led Nozomi to her front door.

"I don't mind at all," she grinned, "He seems really cool."

"I guess that's one way to put it." I rolled my eyes. I'd had to put up with thirty minutes of annoying conversation with Ryou before finding a way to get out.

"I'll see you on Monday." She beamed brightly and shut the door behind her.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Tomo put his hand on my shoulder and steered me towards the steps in front of the house.

"No." I admitted contentedly.

Author's Corner!

Phew, sorry about not posting for a really long time; school's been keeping me super busy. Nevertheless, I was able to finish this chapter...when I should have been working on my mountains of homework...: ) I really wanted Mr. Suzuki to get 'hauled off' for some reason. I wish it'd happen to my evil Keyboarding teacher; that woman is utterly psychotic.

Tune in for the next chapter of "Samsara", where things really do get a tad strange. ((Imaginary theme music))


	12. The Yuurei

**Chapter Twelve: The Yuurei, **幽霊

"_Human beings, vegetables, or comic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible player."—Albert Einstein_

-

Yuri stood in the middle of her training arena, twirling her fingers rapidly and striking down the straw targets propped up in the centre of the arena with short bursts of flames. She grinned satisfactorily when she saw that not a single target had been missed. _My aim's improving._

"My Lady." Jiro beckoned, entering through the small makeshift wooden door at the far left corner of the room and bowing hastily.

"Unless you have something important to say, leave. I have better things to do than--."

"My Lady, I have _great_ news." Jiro interrupted, his mouth twisting into a rare smile of pure happiness.

"Well, go on!" Yuri insisted, pulling her long brown hair into a low ponytail and hopping excitedly.

"It will take less than a quarter rotation of the moon, but I have managed to unlock the secret to activating the door to the Spirit Realm."

"You _already_ can do that." Yuri sighed, her enthusiasm completely dissipated.

"Ah, but now I can transport a wide area of the human realm _into_ the Spirit World. We can let the spirits deal with Taro and the rest of those wriggling worms without worry." Jiro's smile widened and reached to the corners of his paper-white face. Yuri squealed gleefully, clapping her hands together and twirling her hair excitedly.

"Perfect!"

"And as we wait for the moon to age about a week, I have recently been able to infiltrate into Taro's life and collect…information." Jiro added.

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!" She cackled, clapping her hands together ecstatically.

"It pleases me to see you happy." Jiro bowed, turning towards the door.

"Ah, Jiro, I have one more question."

"Yes?"

"…Have you seen my diary anywhere?"

**Home, ****回家 **

"Wake up."

"Mmrph."

"Taro. Wake up."

"Nnngh…"

"Hey, Taro. Are you awake?"

"…"

"Taro?"

"…"

"You're still asleep, aren't you?"

"…"

_SPLASH!_

"AAAAHHH!" I screamed as Tomo dumped a freezing cup of water on my face. "_What the hell was that for?_"

"You didn't wake up." Tomo shrugged, tossing me a towel.

"I was about to get up!"

"Whoops." He shrugged again, pulling Salami out of his cage and stroking his tawny fur sweetly. "You're an hour late for school."

"WHAT? Why didn't you wake me up sooner? AGH! …Where are my pants?...Where's my turtleneck?" I frantically dug through the endless piles of clothes scattered about the floor. Then something struck me.

"To-mo." I groaned.

"Yeah?"

"…IT'S SATURDAY!" I yelled.

"Whoops." Tomo repeated, continuing to stroke Salami. I flopped back down on my bed and glanced at the clock: 7:00.

"Hey! You're not going back to sleep, are you?"

"No."

"Oh, okay."

"…"

"……HEY! You _are_ about to go to sleep!"

"Just resting my eyes…For four more hours…"

"Get up!" Tomo threw Salami onto my chest.

"AAGH! Get him off me!"

"Attack my pet! Attack!"

"Shut up Tomo!" I grabbed Salami (who was clinging to my shirt with his teeth for dear life) and carefully placed him back in his cage. "Fine, you win! _I'm awake!_" I surrendered, reaching to the floor and selecting a t-shirt that looked fairly clean.

"Good. Now let's get over to Ryou's." Tomo grinned, opening the door and motioning down at the stairs.

"What for?" I grumbled.

"Superhero lessons." Tomo smiled, pulling me out the door. "I guess it wouldn't hurt." I conceded, bounding down the stairs after Tomo.

"I'm going out for a bit." I yelled as I slipped on my leather jacket and shoving the keys to Kisho into my pocket. There was no answer. "Mom!" I called. Still no response. "Where'd they go?" Tomo asked, peering into the empty kitchen.

"Dunno…" I muttered, dashing down the hallway and rapping at the thick metal door of Dad's laboratory. "Hey Dad! You here?" I called, trying the doorknob and nearly landing flat on my face when the door opened. "Ugh…He never leaves this door unlocked…" I commented, flipping on the light switch and motioning for Tomo to follow.

Even with the pale blue glow from some fluorescent tubes nailed to the ceiling, a good portion of the lab remained in shadows. "Dad?" I yelled uncertainly. Tomo scurried around the large room and gawked at the various specimen jars and gadgets strew across tables and crammed into cupboards.

"Dude! This place is awesome!" Tomo squealed, gleefully snatching a jar from a shelf and haphazardly inspecting it. "Tomo!" I hissed, "_Don't touch anything!_"

"Worry-wart. Hey…what's that…?" Tomo's short attention span conquered him again and he went to the other corner of the lab to investigate something that newly piqued his interest.

"This is weird. Dad doesn't usually leave his lab unlocked…" I surmised, running my finger over a sterile metal desk scattered with stacks and stacks of paper. "Probably went out for a bit…" Tomo grunted, his focus apparently on something sitting on the counter. "Maybe they're still asleep." I muttered. "But then that wouldn't explain why the lab would be unlocked--."

"CLANG!" Something heavy fell to the floor with a gong-like crash. "TOMO!" I whipped my head around. Tomo was staring at the object in blank fascination. "Taro…it's so…pretty…" Tomo mumbled happily, a small string of drool spilling off his lips. I growled and picked up the weird pulsing chain that had fallen to the floor.

"What in the world…?" I now was caught in the green beating of an orb placed on the chain. "Cool, huh?" Tomo grinned, transfixed on the glow like a drug-high hippie. I shook myself awake, blinking against the pulsating emerald. "Whatever. I'll just leave them a note." I sighed, storing the chain back inside its cabinet with a definitive click. "We'll leave it in the kitchen. C'mon." I snatched Tomo by the sleeve and dragged him up the stairs despite his whining to see the stupid chain again.

**Kitchen, ****厨房**

"Agh! I can't believe I didn't see this!" I slapped myself on the forehead when I realized the short message Mom had tacked onto the fridge.

_Taro, _

_We've gone out for a while. See you in a few. –Mom and Dad_

"Let's go." I huffed, heaving the still-dazed Tomo out the door.

**Café Mew Mew, ****咖啡屋**

"Komori! Kiyoshi!" Ryou smiled cordially as the two strode into his dimly lit office. Komori forced a tight smile on her face; Kiyoshi didn't even bother an attempt at friendliness. "Ryou, we're getting really worried." Komori began as Ryou motioned to the chairs in front of his desk.

"About what?" Ryou asked in mock shock.

"Our son, Taro. He's been acting really weird lately." Kiyoshi said, analyzing Ryou's face. "Well, all teenagers go through a phase where they--."

"No, this is different." Kiyoshi insisted.

"What do you want me to do about it?" Ryou shrugged, suddenly apathetic.

"We think you know more than you're telling." Komori crossed her arms at her chest. Ryou laughed nervously and shook his blonde head.

"I still don't have the slightest idea what you're--."

"Nngh." Kiyoshi clutched his shoulder and winced in pain.

"Kiyoshi?" Komori frowned, reaching for him; he waved away her arm.

"Stop pretending, Ryou. Weird things have been happening around town…"

"But that doesn't mean that _I_---."

"_And_ I've picked up paranormal activity in the area." Kiyoshi concluded, raising a black eyebrow.

"_What does that have to do with me?_" Ryou cried plaintively.

"You have a track record." Komori added wryly.

**Café Mew Mew, ****咖啡屋**

"Tomo, wake up!" I kicked Tomo in the shin as I pushed aside the front doors to Café Mew Mew. Business apparently was slow, and it took a moment for the crazy waitress to register that we'd come in.

"WelcometoCafeMewMew!Icangetyouseatedimmediately!" She squealed, snatching up a menu. I silently held my hand up to stop her.

"We're here to speak to Ryou." I said, calmly walking past her and towards the office door concealed behind a plastic tree.

"We?" I heard her question. _Oh, she probably can't see Tomo._ I tried the handle of the door to find it locked. "Huh?"

A quick rustling came from behind and suddenly Keiichiro was hushing us with his finger to his lips. "Keiichiro?"

"Ssh! Get out of here!"

"Why?"

"Your parents are here! Now get out! I'll come for you when it's safe!" Keiichiro hissed, shoving Tomo and I into the kitchen without another word.

**Café Mew Mew, ****咖啡屋**

"Okay, I admit that I haven't given up paranormal research, but I've never even met your son." Ryou sighed, crossing his arms and staring at the Yamamotos contemptuously. Kiyoshi squinted his eyes, but then stood and pulled Komori to her feet.

"It was good seeing you again, Ryou. Try not to get even older." Komori teased, opening the door and walking out.

"I'll be watching you." Kiyoshi mouthed, following her out the door.

**Café Mew Mew, ****咖啡屋**

"Ouch!"

"What?"

"That was my foot!"

"I didn't do anything to you!"

"Yes you did! You just sat on my foot!"

"No I didn't!"

"Yes you did!"

"Oh yeah? Well…HIYAH!"

"AAGH!"

"Heheheh."

"…Why'd you do that?"

"Because you're being stupid and blaming me for hurting your stupid foot!"

"I'm not stupid! …And you're _still_ sitting on my foot!"

"_That's it_! RAWR!"

"AAAGHHH! THAT TICKLES! AHAHAHA! STOP IT, TOMO! AHAHAHA!"

Suddenly the door to the small storage closet that we were stuffed in opened and we both tumbled out, me still in Tomo's clutches. Keiichiro looked down at us and shook his head. "You didn't have to hide in a closet. Hiding behind the kitchen counter would have worked."

"We're overachievers." I grumbled, prying off Tomo.

"Anyways, it's safe now."

"What were my parents doing here?" I asked, standing up and brushing myself off.

"I'm not sure. You can ask Ryou when we get in the lab." Keiichiro held open the swinging kitchen door, motioning down the hallway.

**Ryou's Laboratory, ****实验室**

"Ryou, what were my parents doing here?" I asked Ryou as Keiichiro ushered us into the lab and slammed the door promptly. Ryou leaned up against a desk, his face smothered in his hands. When he looked up at us, I realized the slight creases of age on his wearied face.

"They're getting suspicious." He groaned.

"Wh-What?" I jolted.

"Well, you haven't exactly been inconspicuous." Tomo shrugged. Ryou waved both his hands about in the air as if to shoo away a colony of flies.

"This just means you'll have to be more careful about how you go about doing things. Anyway, I'm guessing you're here to learn more about Yuri and Jiro?" Ryou huffed, seating himself at the Master Computer.

"Yeah. Last time you were saying something about there being different types of Yuurei." I answered, going to his side and staring up at the fluorescent monitor. Ryou nodded silently and opened a folder titled 'YUUREI'. On the screen appeared a collage of pictures, each presumably depicting a different type of Yuurei. Ryou moved the mouse to the top of the collage and highlighted the picture of a typical-looking Yuurei crouched on the ground, its distorted face peering down at the four of us wickedly.

"This is a Goryo Yuurei: the vengeful ghosts of the aristocratic class, usually those who were murdered. They are one of the three most dangerous Yuurei. They can cause all sorts of chaos and are easily angered."

"Why does this one have a face?" I asked, pointing to the hideous painting.

"Some Yuurei have faces. It's also that way with feet: they might have feet or they might just float. Now, this one," Ryou moved the cursor onto a painting directly below the Goryo, "Is an Onryo Yuurei."

The picture of the Yuurei was still typical, but there was something different in its manner. The Onryo's head lolled to the front and its freakishly long, matted hair covered its face. Its arms were risen up above its head and its hands hung limply from the wrists; dirt was stuck under its fingernails, smeared all over its white kimono, and slathered over its feet. "Onryo's come to the human world solely for vengeance. Most are women, but a few men occasionally appear. Onryo most commonly suffer at the hands of capricious lovers in their lifetime, and are completely powerless in life. But in death, they are lethal and very quick. They're one of the three that you have to keep a sharp eye on."

Next Ryou went to a picture of a serene-faced child sitting on a hearth, warming its hands from a cozy fire. "This is a Zashiki-warashi Yuurei. They're the ghosts of children and are more mischievous than threatening. They will watch over a home and (according to legend) bring luck onto the household, while playing innocent pranks on the inhabitants."

The next painting was of a Yuurei standing on a boat floating down a misty river, speaking to a passenger of the boat pleadingly. "This is a Funayuurei. You won't run into one unless you're in a boat, but if you run into one it'll usually ask you to borrow a ladle. If, for some stupid reason, you let it have a ladle (because _everyone_ carries around ladles), it will fill up the boat with seawater and thus drown everyone onboard."

"Why doesn't he just ask for a bucket?" Tomo blurted.

Ryou ignored him and went on to the next painting of a violent-looking, wild-eyed Yuurei with a blood-crusted sword poised in its pale hand. "This is a Warrior Yuurei. Warrior Yuurei are the veterans of the Genpei War who fell in battle. Not much is known about these and their appearances are rare, but they're still one of the three most dangerous types."

"This is an Ubume Yuurei. They are very gentle and shy by nature, being either mothers that died in childbirth or mothers that left behind small children. The only reason they permeate into the human world is to care for their children, often bringing them sweets and such. They're not a big deal unless you hurt their children." Ryou said, motioning to the sad-looking Yuurei that was caressing a small child in her arms.

The last picture was of a beautiful Yuurei sitting next to a human man, brushing a cherry blossom from his hair and looking upon him sweetly, as someone would a pet puppy. Unlike the other Yuurei, her face had a tinge of red to her lips and cheeks and she actually had a smile on her ghostly face. "The last kind of Yuurei is a Seductress: they're ghosts who has a love affair with a living human. They're extremely tricky, as most like to lure in men with their looks, and then kill them after tempting them with a kiss. Some, however, are just looking for companionship, but nothing good ever becomes of the affairs and usually result in the human dying gruesomely."

"Fun." Tomo grunted.

Author's Corner!

Phew. I haven't posted in a while, huh? My apologies, I've been swamped at school. But! I was able to overcome my writer's block and come up with a super-terrific and interesting plot! Yay! So, what can I say about this chapter? It took quite a bit of research, most of which I'd already put together when I started the story, but I still had to dig into Wikipedia and Yahoo for some information. I liked how I slipped humor in between the serious situations going on; it lightens up the tone of the story. I finally remembered/realized that Komori and Kiyoshi aren't idiots and never really will be as oblivious as the clichéd superhero parents usually are, so I knew I had to slip in a scene where they actually do something about their suspicions. But I still had fun writing this chapter; not as much as I did writing the _next_ chapter, though. The next chapter's where it starts to get a little freaky and I actually got myself really scared when I was typing it up. You'll see why. --AXM


	13. Don't Fear the Dark

**Chapter Thirteen: Don't Fear the Dark, ****不害怕黑暗**

"_Once we set through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!"—Kingdom Hearts I_

_-_

Something wasn't right. As he suspiciously crept down the steps leading into the lightless lab, Kiyoshi felt tingles of precognition shimmy down his spine.

"Someone's been here…" Kiyoshi sniffed the air. He smelled that Taro had recently been in the lab, probably to look for some experimental supplies or something; he wasn't too worried about that. But there was a second, fresher scent: it smelled like rust and mold. The scent spread over the floor, and all over the cabinets. "Oh boy…" Kiyoshi grumbled, running to the cabinet placed in the far dark corner of the room. He sniffed the surface and found it was thickly coated in the foreign odor; to his horror the door to the cabinet popped right open, when it was supposed to always be locked. His hands shaking, Kiyoshi reached into the dark cupboard and felt around for the Chalice. Panic struck him when his fingers didn't brush the familiar cold of its metal. "Someone's taken the Chalice!" he cursed loudly, banging his fist on the cabinet.

Kiyoshi's eyes darted about the room, trying to piece together some sort of timeline. _Okay, Taro must have come in before the thief, but the lab must have been unlocked for him to come in…_ He sniffed the air again, tasting it more carefully. _No…The thief's scent is underlying Taro's too, which meant he was here a little before Taro…and then came back? Damn it! _

**School, Thursday**

"_Why, yes, Taro! I'd love to marry you!" Nozomi squealed happily, her eyes sparkling with delighted surprise._

"_Finally!" I cheered, grasping her by the waist and holding her to me, looking up at the blue sky and grinning. Things were starting to look up._

"_Mr. Yamamoto."_

"_I love you, Nozomi!"_

"_Mr. Yamamoto!"_

"_Nozomi? Why is your voice so deep?"_

Something cold swatted the back of my head. I found that I'd gone to sleep in the middle of science, with Mr. Satou glaring down at me icily and balancing a piece of chalk in between his spindly fingers. A few stifled snickers came from the rest of the class as I sat up and wiped off a train of drool hanging off the side of my mouth.

"Thank you for joining us Mr. Yamamoto." Mr. Satou muttered, squeezing his lips into a thin line as the bell rang to end class. As I stood up he caught me by the sleeve and pulled me back.

"I'm afraid you'll need to come in for tutorials tomorrow to make up what you missed today." He instructed. It took a moment to stop shaking from the evil in his eyes.

"But I thought today was just a review--?"

"You need to make it up." Mr. Satou interrupted, shoving my books into my arms and pushing me out the classroom door.

**Home**

"Dang, tough luck with the science thing." Tomo sighed, shaking his head as I bounded up the front steps to the house.

"Ugh! I can't wait until Mr. Suzuki comes back!" I grumbled, slamming the door behind me.

"I don't think that fruit loop's coming back from the Happy Shack." Tomo grinned, making google-eyes. At the kitchen table sat Mom and Dad, Dad hunkered over with his hands folded over his head and Mom softly whispering to him.

"What's wrong?" I asked, bending over to try to get a look at Dad's face.

"I lost something." Dad mumbled blankly, waving for me to go away.

**Yuri's Hideout, ****藏匿处**

Jiro chuckled as the Vesper dropped the Chalice of Life into his palm. "Well, done, my pet. This will significantly speed the time needed to permeate the realms." Jiro extracted the crystal box from his cloak and inspected it: the eye was turned a deep blood red.

"Perfect! The door should be open by exactly tomorrow! Oh, this is _too_ perfect!" Jiro let out a throaty laugh.

**Home**

"Ugh. I'm beat." I groaned, throwing myself on my bed and sighing. "Tomo, get the lights, will you?"

"Okay." Tomo replied sleepily. Immediately the lights switched off.

"Wow. Talk about fast."

"Uhh…"

"What are you 'uhh'-ing about?"

"Um, that wasn't me."

"Yes it was. I just heard you say it."

"No, I mean it wasn't me that turned off the lights."

"…Then…who did?" I shivered, crawling deeper into my blankets and staring into the shadows fearfully.

"Dunno." Tomo replied nervously.

"…Wait, let me try something. Tomo, turn on the lights." I ordered. Immediately the lights flickered back on.

"Woah, that was really cool! It's like one of those clapper-thingies!" Tomo gawked.

"Okay…Uh, Tomo, turn off the lights."

The lights flicked off.

"Tomo, turn the lights on."

The lights flicked back on.

"Tomo, turn off the lights."

The lights flicked off.

"Tomo, turn the lights on."

The lights flicked back on.

"This is getting weird." Tomo shivered, hopping over to the bed and crouching beside me. "Wait, I have one more idea." I whispered to Tomo and stood up on the bed.

"Tomo, show yourself." I stated clearly, trying to keep myself from shivering. The shadows behind the dresser sitting by the light switch twitched unnaturally, like a frightened rabbit.

"…What _is_ that?" Tomo squinted his eyes.

"I…don't know." I remarked, clearing my throat. "Tomo, show yourself _completely_. _Now_." I said louder and more adamantly.

The shadows twitched a bit more until slowly, a pool of shadow dribbled from behind the dresser and materialized in front of me and Tomo. I heard Tomo whimper as the shadow-figure finished gathering itself and stood before us, studying us with nonexistent eyes.

"…At this moment I think it would be appropriate to run and scream bloody murder." Tomo muttered weakly. It was tempting, but I held my ground and analyzed the creature. It looked just like the silhouette of a person: it had the outline of a face, arms, and legs, but it obviously wasn't human. Cautiously, I stepped off the bed and approached it, swallowing the scream building in my throat. The shadow twitched timidly, poised to run even though it had nowhere to run to.

"I'm not going to hurt you." I announced, more as an assurance to myself that the creature wasn't going to hurt _me_. Somehow that seemed to convince it and it stood, calmly waiting for me. I stretched my hand towards it, palms upward in a friendly gesture. The creature inched back at first, and then crept towards my hand carefully, turning its dark head to the side to inspect it.

"Be careful, Taro! It might bite!" Tomo warned from his safe position by the bed, brandishing my pillow like a machine gun.

"Thanks for the reassurance." I hissed out of the corner of my mouth. The shadow hesitantly reached for my hand with its own, not certain if I was going to allow it. "Go ahead. It's okay." I smiled, now becoming accustomed to its shy movements. Its wispy fingers brushed up against my solid ones and I could barely tell it was touching me; the only sensation I could feel was a slight warmth where it touched my hand.

"What…_What_ _are you_?" I asked as quietly as I could as it took my hand into it's and inspected it with engrossed interest. At this the shadow stared up at me, then turned its head to the side curiously, and then shook its head slowly. "I…I don't understand." I shook my head back. The figure pointed towards me and nodded, then pointed towards itself and shook its head furiously.

"You know, I think I might have seen one of these when I was in the Spirit World." Tomo tapped his chin, lowering the pillow.

"Do you know what they are?"

"Can't say I do. I just vaguely remember seeing something that sort of looked like that…"

"Do you think it's a kind of Yuurei?" I asked, jumping slightly at the thought of a Yuurei being in my room. If only I'd known that in the next following days there would be many, many scarier things than a ghost in my room.

At the mention of a Yuurei, the shadow convulsed and tucked itself into a little ball on the floor. "Nah. This little guy's too puny to be one." Tomo shook his head, emerging from behind the bed and standing next to me. The shadow then looked up urgently, standing and waving its hands about in the air.

"I…I don't know what you're trying to say…" I struggled to grasp a meaning within its fidgety movements. Its shoulders sunk and it looked down at the floor in defeat, but then raised its head and it tried to speak.

"Ayyyeee…"

"Uh."

"Aayyyeee ahhmmm…aahhhh…" The shadow struggled to string together the different noises; it sounded as if it were putting every inch of its being into forming the words.

"Aahhh…Vehhh…Spuurrr…" The creature rasped.

"I still don't get it." Tomo shrugged.

"No—Wait! I think it's trying to piece together sounds. Okay: "Aaye" sounds like…"

"I."

"Yeah! And "ahhmmm…aahhhh…" means…. "am a"?" I furrowed my brow, trying to think. The shadow nodded rapidly.

"And "aahhh…" again means "a", then." Tomo added.

"So, what does "Vehhh…Spuurrr…" sound like?"

"Um…" Tomo wrinkled his forehead. The creature nodded and repeated itself, "Veehh…Spuurrr…"

"…Wait! I get it! It's trying to say "I am a Vesper"!" I realized. The Vesper nodded and waved its hands around again.

"Oh, there's more you want to say?"

"Uhhhh…Huuuuuhhhh."

"All right."

"Jye-roh..."

"…Jiro? You-You know Jiro?"

"Uhhhh…Huuuuuhhhh. Jye-roh…baaahhhhd…"

"Yeah, he is bad. What's he planning, Vesper? Do you know?"

"Steehl…Chal…eeyce."

"Huh?"

"Steehl…Chal…eeyce. Baahhd. Oh-pehn doohr. Con…ect…wuhrlds. Vehr-eey baahhd."

"Connect worlds? What?"

"Bee-wahyr offh thuh Yuu kee-onnha. Bee-frehnd thuh Yaa-maa oo-baah."

"O-Okay…"

"Doo…noht pheer thuh…dahrk. Doo noht…bee scaahrd. Faayyht…haz choe-zen Taa-roh." The shadow's voice lowered, and it began convulsing again. "Muuhhst…gooh. Doo…noht pheer thuh…dahrk."

"What? Why do you have to go?" I asked, looking around wildly for some reason for the Vesper to run. Its voice lowered to a radio-like crackle as it slowly dimmed out of vision. Just before it faded it whispered feebly, "_Doo…noht pheer thuh…dahrk._"

Author's Corner!

((shivers)) God, it was so creepy writing that! ...Well, I'm easily scared. Plus I was at home alone and watching The Fog when it was dark. No more horror movies for me for a while. I still had a lot of fun writing this chapter, despite scaring myself witless.

A bunch of the things that the Vesper says doesn't make any sense at the moment, but it will in the following chapters...hopefully. Eheh. I actually meant to post this chapter on the day that I posted the one before it, but I was being too lazy, so I waited until today. The next chapter, however, won't be posted for quite a while since...well, I haven't written past the first paragraph. There's a certain way I want the events to happen, and the way that I have them right now SUCKS. I can't even tell you guys how bad it sucks. But hopefully whenever I get past the sucky-ness post it, it'll be more exciting than this chapter. I've been waiting forever to get to the exciting part of the story! HUZZAH!

AXM, out! ((imaginary theme music))


	14. The Blithe Forest of Yomi

**Chapter Fourteen: The Blithe Forest of Yomi,**

"_But flowers distilled, though they with winter meet / Leese but their show; their substance still lives sweet." –Sonnet 5, William Shakespeare_

_-_

"What the hell was that thing?" Tomo asked as I strolled down the hall with my backpack slung over my shoulder. It was after school and we were on our way to Mr. Satou's 'mandatory tutorials'. The halls were deathly quiet and not another soul seemed to be in the building, not even the janitor.

"Just what he said he was: a Vesper." I shrugged. It worried me that I no longer thought anything of it when paranormal entities showed up in my room.

"Yeah, but do you think he's with Jiro?"

"I tend to doubt it. He didn't seem to be very harmful."

"Junk food doesn't seem to be harmful either until you're having a heart attack from all the cholesterol." Tomo swatted the back of my head.

"Let's just get this over with." I groaned quietly to Tomo as we stepped through the doorway. The room was brightly lit and off in the corner sat Mr. Satou, his hands clasped together and icy eyes serenely locking mine in their cold gaze.

"Hello, Mr. Yamamoto." He greeted airily. I threw my backpack on the floor and took a seat, watching him expectantly. "So," I started awkwardly, "what do I need to make up?"

"Oh, many things." Mr. Satou stood, a content smile spreading across his face. He flung his left arm towards the door: it shut and locked on its own. _Uh…That's not a good sign._ He then yanked open one of the drawers in his desk and hefted an object in his right hand. I noticed it was the chain and orb that had been in Dad's lab. _How did he get that?_

"H-Hey!" I stuttered, standing and pointing as he slipped the thick chain over his head. Tomo rose quickly and tapped me on the shoulder, "Taro! That's not Mr. Satou!"

"What?' I asked incredulously.

"Asato mā sad gamaya, Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya, Mrtyormā amrtam gamaya, Om śānti śānti śāntih…" 'Mr. Satou' recited rapidly, making wild hand motions in rhythm to the chant.

"What…?" I was confused; completely confused. I show up for tutorials and my teacher just suddenly starts chanting with something stolen from my house. _What's happening?...Am I asleep?_

'Mr. Satou' snickered happily as he finished the chant, biting down on his thumb and drawing blood. "You made it easy." He chuckled, reaching into the pocket of his navy blazer and pulling out a familiar-looking crystal box. The sudden realization finally hit me.

"Jiro!" I called out stupidly.

"Transform, stupid!" Tomo whacked the back of my head again.

"O-Okay." I nodded. Jiro shook his grey head and smeared the blood dribbling from his hand onto the box, fashioning into the shape of intricate pictorial runes, beginning his strange chant again. I held my trembling arm up in the air and shouted as loudly as I could, "MEW MEW METAMORPHOSIS!"

I squeezed my eyes shut, praying that when I opened them I would still be sitting in the classroom, staring up at the ceiling blankly. When I dared to open them again, I was cocooned inside a wave of comforting brown light. "Hey! It worked!" I shouted happily. In the distance I could hear Tomo's muffled triumphant screams, but all I could see was brown. A soft purr came from behind me; I turned and found it was the cat that I had seen in my dream many months ago. _Get away from me! You're an evil cat! Shoo!_ The cat purred again and did its usual creepy wink. _Hey, my head itches…_I felt my head and found where my regular ears should have been, there were two giant fuzzy cat ears. The brown cloud sucked back into itself and I found myself back in the classroom with Tomo staring at me in joyful wonder and Jiro glaring menacingly.

"Hematite Shuriken!" I called unconsciously. In my gloved hand appeared a large, yet amazingly light, shuriken with the insignia from my neck burned into its gleaming black surface. I grinned smugly and wound the shuriken behind me with uncharacteristic speed and hurled it through the air at Jiro. Instead of running like he should have, he simply tilted his head back and laughed. The Shuriken, swinging at full speed, crashed into an invisible field Jiro had planted around himself and crashed to the floor, useless.

"You're too late." He smirked, clapping his hands together and then banging them on top of the crystal box. Everything happened so fast: The room was being immersed in a thick fog, quickly shielding Jiro from our vision. I could feel the white tile floor shimmer and disappear, to be replaced by moist dirt and leafy plants.

"What's happening?" Tomo yelled at me.

"I don't know!" I yelled back. Every trace of the school was gone: all we could see was a thickening, suffocating fog and the black ground under us. I swung my hand through the fog; it swirled back and allowed me to see a little farther ahead. I felt on the ground and wrapped my hand around the Hematite Shuriken comfortingly.

"Uh, Tomo…?" I called through uncertainly through the curtain of fog.

"What?" Tomo called blindly; I heard him trip and fall over something.

"…I don't think we're in school anymore." I finished shakily. He stumbled through the fog, nearly knocking me off my feet, not to mention scaring the living daylights out of me.

"What do you mean?"

"Look." I swirled my hand through the fog again; Tomo's jaw dropped as he looked upon the abundant, twisted forest standing before us.

"Where _are _we?"

"I don't know, but I'm guessing that this is Jiro's doing."

"_Naw_, he was just chanting evilly to scare us."

"Okay, well we still need to find him and fix this."

"How are we supposed to find something when _we're_ lost?"

"Easy. We'll just wander around."

"Oh yes! Let's wander around! …AND END UP GETTING KILLED!"

"Would you prefer to just keep standing here and wait for something to come after you?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, but--."

"AAHHHH!" A high-pitched scream cried off distantly through the shroud of the mist and forest.

"Come on, Tomo!" I snatched his arm and dragged him through the fog towards the tall spindly trees reaching up towards the troubled grey sky. "Why do we go _towards_ the screaming?" Tomo complained as I dragged him through the ominous mouth of the forest.

Here the fog wasn't nearly as thick for some reason; it sank and covered only the ground, granting us good visibility through the bracken. I slowed down the pace to a slow sprint, noticing the thick tree roots lacing through the moist ground, just begging to trip someone. "Goddammit, Taro! Slow down!" Tomo whined.

"We don't have the _time_ to slow down!" I yelled behind to him. The canopy of tree branches wove together to form a tunnel-like appearance to the forest: darkness began to slip in closer the deeper we ran into the forest. Wretched, dead-looking plants dotted along the misty ground, growing in crevices of porous rocks and on the moss-ridden soil.

"Taro…Do you hear something?" Tomo whimpered.

"No. We're going to keep moving until we find out who was screaming."

"B-But--."

"Someone could be in trouble!"

"Uh, Taro, look up ahead." Tomo feebly pointed in front of me. We were approaching a section of the forest where the canopy above forked into two separate directions. In the middle of these two 'tunnels' sat a large moss-covered rock with a bright white fox sitting on top of it. I stopped running and stared at the impasse.

"Well this is just great." I sighed, inspecting each tunnel: they were identical.

"What should we do?"

"Um…Eeny Meeny Miny Moe?" I suggested half-heartedly.

"That wouldn't be a wise decision, young man."

"…Did you just call me a 'young man'?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You just called me a 'young man'! Don't think that since you're a ghost you suddenly have the privilege to call me a 'young man'!"

"What are you talking about? All I asked you was what we should do!"

"No you didn't--!"

"I apologize; it was I whom was speaking." A woman's voice said. Tomo and I both slowly turned our heads to look at the fox looking up at us with a smile on its face. Tomo's expression soured.

"I don't trust talking animals." He hissed, inching away from the grinning fox. I crouched down and leveled my eyes with the fox's. "Um, you…talk?" I asked slowly, poking its nose.

"…I ask that you don't … 'poke' me. And yes, I can speak." The fox replied, its feminine voice full of aged dignity.

"A…talking fox? Good god, I guess I _am_ asleep…" I ran my hand through my hair, pinching my neck to wake myself up.

"A 'fox'! I am not a mere 'fox'! I am Blithe, a Kyubi no Kitsune! A '_fox_'! Hah!" Blithe stuck her pointed nose in the air and twitched several of her glimmering nine white tails irritably.

"I-I'm sorry! Uh, we're not from around here." I apologized quickly. She inspected me from the corner of her eye, and then let her frustration go in a steady breath.

"Yes, that's apparent. You know, in the Spirit Realm, guessing is a _very_ bad idea." Blithe's face took on her vivacious poker-smile again.

"Woah! You mean—we're in the _Spirit Realm_?" My eyes grew wide and icy panic stuck in my throat. Blithe tilted her head back and snickered teasingly.

"Why, of course. Where else did you think you were?"

"I don't know! Oh my god, we're in the _Spirit Realm_!" I panicked. Tomo slapped my face and shook my shoulders.

"Get it together, Taro."

"But, you know, something doesn't seem quite right. I can smell human _everywhere_. It's disgusting." Blithe complained.

"Blithe, do you know how humans can get into the Spirit Realm?" I asked quickly. She shrugged slightly, too dignified to completely slouch.

"You should know; _you're_ a human."

"Yes, but—Well, I don't know how I got here."

"I suppose you must have come through the door to the Human World." Blithe squinted her wide eyes and paused to think. After a moment of thinking, she sniffed the foggy air suspiciously, her almond-shaped eyes widening. "That scum!" Blithe's serene voice lilted into a throaty, threatening tone.

"Um, what are you talking about?" I tried to ask politely through the building tension. She shook herself and hopped from her perch on the rock and onto the ground, still sniffing.

"Taro, I think I know how you got here." Blithe growled.

"How?"

"An Obake named Jiro. Ugh! When I get my _paws on him_!"

"Wait! You know Jiro?" I asked. She turned her furry face to me questioningly.

"Do you know him?"

"Yeah. He's been causing all sorts of havoc in the Human World with this alien named Yuri."

"Well, I don't know what an 'alien' is, but I know Jiro very well. He's one of my kind; one of the nine Tarot Cards." Blithe said with disgust.

"…He's a fox?" I asked blankly.

"I am _not_ a--!"

"I mean, Kyubi no Kitsune. He's a Kyubi no Kitsune?" I corrected.

"Actually he's a Nogitsune Kyubi no Kitsune."

"And…?"

"He's just like me, except he's evil. Just like in the Human World, we have the good and the evil, the weak and the strong. Just because it's the Spirit Realm doesn't mean that the inhabitants here don't have personalities and morals. There's still plenty of life after death."

"I guess that makes sense. Look, can you help us find Jiro? We need to get him to fix whatever he's done here and the Human World." I asked. Blithe considered it for a moment.

"I suppose. You're going to need much help, even if you have a spirit with you for guidance." Blithe swished her tails toward Tomo.

"Actually I have no clue what I'm doing." Tomo grinned.

"Brilliant." She sighed. "All right, then. The way we want to go is right."

**The Forest of Yomi**

"Blithe, have you seen any other humans around here? The whole reason we came into the forest was because we heard screaming." I whispered to Blithe as we soundlessly crept down the looming, overgrown path after she instructed Tomo and me to stop 'tramping around like a blundering pair of oxen'.

"Yes. Many, in fact, came through the forest and went left at the fork."

"Is that bad?" I asked. Her mischievous smile left and her face became deathly serious.

"You _never_ go left." Blithe whispered, her placid green eyes growing wide.

"What's left?" Tomo asked loudly, his voice echoing through the trees.

"Shh! It's where the Oni live. Their camps are all over this area." She answered reverently.

"You know, I don't remember any of this when I was here…" Tomo glanced around at the surrounding flora.

"That's not surprising. Many strange things are happening. Not to mention the fact that the Spirit Realm is endless." Blithe shrugged.

"…Hey, Tomo. Do you remember what the Vesper said?" I asked suddenly as Blithe led us further through the bracken.

"Oh yeah," Tomo's voice went low and raspy, "_Doo…noht pheer thuh…dahrk!'_

"No, not that! The other thing!" I shook my head. Blithe looked back at us, surprised.

"You say a Vesper _spoke_ to you?"

"Yeah, we found it in my room last night."

"'Night'?...Oh, that's right; you believe in time. Anyhow, it's completely out of the nature of a Vesper to have the ability to talk. They're not even spirits; they just act like one." Blithe stuck up her nose again, evidently having something against Vespers, as a tidy old woman would with dust.

"Then what are they?" Tomo asked, stepping on a twig with a sickening crack and making Blithe and I jump.

"They are what's left."

"Huh?"

"That's just what they are: what's left. All that remains of any emotion or entity. Or perhaps they're all that there ever was… Regardless, they're completely emotionless. They feel neither sadness nor anger; they're just simply an existence. They don't even have the ability to think. They're just a dull-worn out shadow of anything that used to be." She explained quietly.

"Well the one that we saw could talk." Tomo shrugged indifferently.

"Then if it was a Vesper, which is still very doubtful, it must be a powerful one. I caution you against conversing with just any being that you come upon during your journey. Here things are never what they seem." Blithe cautioned.

"But really; it told us something that I think could be important." I rebuked.

"Then what was it?" Tomo asked, gingerly avoiding another twig strewn across the path.

"It mentioned…that Jiro stole something…and …ugh, I can't remember!"

"Shh!"

"Wait, Taro. Didn't it say something about opening a door?"

"Oh yeah!"

"Silence! You're both loud enough to wake the dead!" Blithe scolded us mutedly.

"…And then something about 'connecting worlds' and that it was 'very bad'." Tomo finished, ignoring her scorn. Blithe froze in mid-step. "…It said '_connect worlds_'?" She repeated slowly.

"Yes. Is that bad?"

"'Is it bad?' 'IS IT _BAD_?' You have no idea what sort of repercussions this is going to have! Oh, why didn't I figure it out _sooner_!" Blithe wailed.

"Um. Do you mind telling us what's going on?" Tomo asked blankly. Blithe lost all the laughter from her eyes and all that was left was an empty, frightening emerald-green pool of hatred.

"Jiro has merged the Human World and the Spirit Realm together! That filthy, scummy, wretched coward--!"

"Merged? That doesn't sound good." Tomo frowned nonchalantly, drifting off into his own little world of meditation. I crouched and stared into Blithe's troubled face. "Blithe, what does this mean?" I tried to ask calmly; I really felt like digging a hole, crawling up in the fetal position, and sobbing until I died. Then again, even if I did die I'd still end up in the same place.

"It means," she swallowed hard before continuing, "that both worlds are now intertwined. Some characteristics of the Human World have been transplanted into the Spirit World, or perhaps it's vice versa…but that's beside the point! The point is that there are humans and spirits running amongst each other and that _cannot_ happen! The spirits are too ill-tempered and the humans are too stupid to deal with the spirits!"

"…Is there a way to fix it?"

"The only way to find a way to fix it is to find Jiro." Blithe sighed and nodded toward the trail, continuing to plod on the loose ground.

"And then?" I inquired, jogging to catch up with her.

"Then we will find whatever it is he used to open the Door and reverse everything. Jiro's such an ignorant—!"

"Wait, Blithe! I know what he used to open the door!" I realized.

"You're not getting any younger, boy."

"He stole this chain-looking thing from my house. I think he opened the portal with it when he lured us into his trap."

"Describe it more."

"Sure. It's this long, thick chain that has this big orb attached to it that pulses--."

"Green?"

"Yeah!"

"That's what I feared." Blithe shook her head, situating herself into a sitting position on the spongy ground, fanning out her cluster of tails to the side like a peacock's plume.

"Do you know what it is?" I asked, cautiously lowering myself next to her. She nodded wearily and looked off in the misty distance. Tomo clumsily fell onto the ground beside us with an "Oomph!"

"It sounds very similar to a Hoshi no Tama, a relic made of fox-flare that has enormous power." Blithe said soberly.

"Would a Hoshi no Tama really be able to do something like this?" Tomo asked, motioning to the ominous overhang of dark trees and mist.

"I wouldn't doubt it. If he has a Hoshi no Tama, we have to get it back as soon as possible."

"Why?" Tomo shrugged. I envied his naivety; the ability to stay completely placid during a life-and-death situation takes quite a bit of ignorance. Blithe whipped her sharp face around and promptly gave Tomo the Evil Eye.

"Because if we don't, whoever's life feeds off the Hoshi no Tama will _die_!" She snapped.

**Tokyo Laboratories, Genetics Sector**

"Okay, just a little bit more…" Kiyoshi mumbled under his breath, delicately applying pressure to the end of an eyedropper, watching the small droplet of alcohol drip into the Petri dish.

"Hey, Dr. Yamamoto! Check this out!" One of the annoying interns called from outside Kiyoshi's office, barging in and pointing out the small square windows cut out from the white wall. Kiyoshi sighed and decided to humor him.

"Okay: _what is it_?"

"Look at all the fog out there! It's so weird…" The intern marveled, pressing his oily fingers to the glass. Kiyoshi glanced out the window, his interest drifting away from his work. "Hm. That is weird." He commented, joining the intern next to the window. Kiyoshi felt a slight tremble in the ground, he pressed his feet more solidly to the floor and listened carefully: it felt like an earthquake was coming.

"I think there's going to be an earthquake." Kiyoshi told the intern distractedly, still gazing out the window and trying to make out the shapes of buildings through the haze.

"An _earthquake_? Dr. Yamamoto, you need to seriously take some time off--."

A vociferous, splicing rumble came from below; Kiyoshi could sense the ground quaking, but it wasn't moving with the characteristics of an earthquake. Flitters of pain diffused through his chest, and he had to catch the breath being stolen from his lungs. _What? Why am I in pain? _The room trembled even more; the shocks from the quakes could be seen rippling under the white tile floor. The intern clumsily threw himself under a desk for protection as dust filtered down from the ceiling. As the quaking worsened, the tourniquet strapped across Kiyoshi's chest tightened and he barely noticed through the pain that he'd fell to the floor. Everything began to go fuzzy, as if he'd put on someone else's glasses, and his head reeled in never-ending circles like an out of control merry-go-round. At this point he'd latched onto an idea of what was causing his pain: something terrible had happened to the Chalice. And, clinging to that single thought, he welcomed the cool, comforting blanket of darkness.

Author's Corner!

Phew. It took me forever to edit this chapter! I had to do quite a bit of research for the story, so that's partly why it took so long to post it; I wanted to make sure I had all the facts straight. You might want to pay attention to the little things that Blithe mentions but doesn't really go into detail about yet; they'll come along in the next few chapters. Oh, and there will also be a 'pleasant' blast from the past much later in the story…


	15. The Monsters of Purgatory

**Chapter Fifteen: The Monsters of Purgatory,** **炼狱的怪物**

"_I enjoy life. I think I'll enjoy death even more."__  
-- __Cat Stevens_

_-_

"This has Ryou written all over it." Komori grumbled, pushing herself up from the floor and coughing up a fistful of dust. The house was in an utter disaster after the shockwaves hit it, and she feared that more would be coming.

"I'm getting to the bottom of this." She stumbled towards the door through the sea of debris and slipped on her coat. "I hope Kiyoshi's okay." Komori sighed before she shut the door behind her.

She took in her breath when her eyes locked on the new environment she was suddenly placed in. A giant fog bank encompassed what was left of the street, which was now overgrown with wicked-looking vines, moss, and dirt; she felt like she'd been dropped in the middle of a Jurassic Park movie.

"_Ryou_." Komori growled, picking the way she thought was towards Café Mew Mew and sprinted for it across the perilous stretch of now-extant forest.

**The Forest of Yomi, Yomi ****的森林**

"Die?" I gulped.

"Of course, we're not sure what purpose the Hoshi no Tama had in your family; it could have been used to put a protection over your home, or keep a pet safe, or something of that sort." Blithe nodded, motioning back towards the path.

"But…?"

"Well, if the Hoshi no Tama watches over a life and supplies for that life…the life will eventually end after the painful process of being leeched of energy. So we must now make haste." She added, picking up the pace of her paws on the moist ground. Worry lagged at the back of my mind: I remembered that Dad had said he'd 'lost' something and had been really upset about it. _Could he have been talking about the Hoshi no Tama? Man, this definitely isn't good…_

Blithe sniffed the air casually and immediately froze, sniffing. "Oh no…"

"What?" Tomo asked, stopping and peering at the brush around us lazily. Blithe opened her mouth and was about to reply, when a deep, rumbling growl pierced through the spindly trees and bushes. Blithe's face contorted and she muttered a curse in a strange language, bracing herself low to the ground and baring her teeth.

"Blithe, what is that?" I murmured out the corner of my mouth, freezing uncomfortably. "I told you two that it's Oni territory." She sighed. Tomo whimpered and a higher-pitched voice came from the thicket behind us.

"Ooh, after-dinner snack!" the voice cackled. There was an overwhelming rustling and from all sides stepped out colossal, hideous monsters. Every member of the clan bore a wide, gaping mouth lined with dagger-like teeth and great, hulking muscles stacked onto their arms and legs. Each wielded a grotesque weapon in one of their clawed hands and slapped it in their palm impatiently.

"Zombie dogs on steroids…" Tomo snickered under his breath, despite the looming possibility that we were about to be 'snacks'. Blithe straightened her posture and forced herself out of her battle stance; she flashed a bright dazzling smile around at the Oni.

"We're just passing through. Now if you would be so kind as to get out of the way." Blithe grinned with a dramatically polite and condescending tone. The biggest of the Oni stepped into the circle formed around us and brandished his spiked club with a thick string of drool dribbling from his jagged mouth.

"Snack!" it roared happily, stomping its gargantuan feet on the ground like a fussing toddler. The rest of the Oni enthusiastically joined the chant, their voices rising above the trees: "Snack! Snack! Snack! Snack!"

"Blithe, right now would be a great time for a plan." I urged, staring at the chanting Oni and trembling.

"I have one, but it's completely insane."

"In case you haven't noticed: we're not exactly in a situation where we can spend an hour forming a well-thought-out plan." Tomo shrugged.

"All right. I'm only going to say this once, so listen very carefully."

"Snack! Snack! Snack!"

"I will take care of the Oni and the both of you will run as fast as you can in that direction," Blithe pointed a tail towards the path, "And you will wait for me there. If I don't return in less than…fifteen human minutes, I believe, then you are to go on without me. Make your way to the top of the mountain, don't speak to _any_ creature you come upon, and _do not ever go left_."

"What?" I blanched; she was right: that was a crazy plan.

"Snack! Snack! Snack!" The Oni drew the circle tighter.

"On my signal you are to break through the circle and run, understood?" Blithe instructed, lowering herself closer to the ground and flicking her tails.

"But--!" I stammered.

"Now!" Blithe signaled, jumping onto the face of the largest Oni, biting onto his nose and shaking her head furiously. The Oni shrieked and flung its head side to side; the rest of the clan simply froze and watched stupidly as Blithe clung onto the Oni's face. I grabbed Tomo and barraged through two of the smaller Oni blocking the path and stumbled onward, forcing myself not to look back through the trees. Surprisingly, I couldn't pick up the noise of burly footsteps in pursuit.

"Oh my God!" I huffed when I saw the end of the forest ahead where red light filtered through the scattered trees. I tiredly flung myself onto the cold dirt ground, struggling to catch my breath. Tomo sighed and sat himself on a carved stone idol placed a few feet away.

"So yet again, the dashing Tomo and his sidekick Taro have eluded death." Tomo announced with the gusto of a game show host. I sighed heavily and pushed myself up, curiously taking in the new scenery. The red, sandy landscape was relatively flat, with a few lone spindly trees reaching toward a bloody sky. Protruding out from the ground about twenty yards away were the remnants of a skyscraper. Near to the building sat some dirt-covered cars, most with their windshields and windows cracked.

"Woah…" Tomo gawked.

"I guess this is what Blithe meant by 'combining the worlds'." I sighed, tearing my eyes away from the lonely sight of several more now-dilapidated buildings buried under the dust. Tomo tried to look for even more buildings, but the light fog covering the plain lowered visibility.

"…Where are all the people?" Tomo asked. I didn't answer, and just looked toward the mouth of the forest soberly. Tomo lowered his head to the red ground and scuffled his feet in the dust.

"Come on." I swallowed, turning my back to the forest and buildings and facing the upward incline of what looked like a mountain to the east.

"Shouldn't we go look for survivors?" Tomo jerked his thumb back toward the buildings. I huffed and grabbed his shoulders.

"Tomo, if anyone lived through whatever happened, they're already gone." I said more harshly than I meant. Tomo nodded numbly and turned his back towards the destruction, facing our newest obstacle with a hard-set face.

**Café Mew Mew,** **咖啡屋 **

"Okay; I think it's safe to go outside now." Keiichiro mused from under a hardwood table to Ryou, who crouched under another table a few feet away. Ryou bit his lip and shook his head.

"I have a feeling that wasn't an earthquake."

"…Then what was it?"

"I don't know; but I'm going to find out." Ryou muttered, sliding out from under the table and unbolting the café doors. As soon as he threw the latch, a sea of fog drifted in from outside and smacked him full in the face. "Wah!"

"Ryou? Are you okay?"

"Yeah! It's just a bunch of fog!" Ryou coughed. He strained his eyes to see through the haze: he could make out the distant outlines of a person stumbling through the mist. Ryou stepped out from the café and yelled out into the fog, "Hello?"

"Ryou!" A familiar panicked voice beckoned.

"Komori?" Ryou called, taking a few unsure steps outside. There was now an ominous forest of trees covering the sky and sheltering the world in darkness. Komori tripped into Ryou's arms shakily, half sobbing for joy.

"Oh Ryou! You have no idea what I've had to go through to get here!" She wailed as he dragged her inside and firmly shut the door behind them.

"Komori: do you know what happened?" Ryou asked quietly as Keiichiro sat her down in a chair and looked over a deep gash in her knee. She shook her head tiredly and wiped a few stray tears from her dirt-smeared cheeks. "There are…_monsters _out there." She sniffled, breathing in sharply.

"Monsters? Komori, tell me what kind of monsters. Kirema anima?" Ryou asked, grabbing Komori's shoulders, trying to shake an explanation out of her.

"N-No! They're worse and ten times scarier! God, I'm such a scaredy-cat!" She sighed, angry tears chasing down her cheeks.

"Komori, tell me what they looked like." Ryou insisted.

"There were different kinds…First there were these moving shadows and then there were some huge troll-looking things! Then just now I swear I saw a tengu!"

"This is getting weird." Keiichiro frowned, smearing alcohol onto Komori's cut. Ryou let go of Komori and wrinkled his brow. "Komori…where is Taro?"

Komori gasped and covered her face with her hands. "Oh no! He's at school!" She shook, running her shaking fingers through her blonde hair; she immediately froze and stared up at Ryou with accusing ice-blue eyes.

"Okay, so maybe I'm a little more in the loop than I let on." Ryou grinned sheepishly. Komori shooed Keiichiro away from her knee and grabbed Ryou by the shirt. "Where is my baby?" She hissed, her eyes growing wide.

"Well, he _should_ be at school, but in light of the certain circumstances I'd say he could be anywhere." Ryou shrugged.

"WHAT?"

"Chill!" Ryou winced, reaching into his pocket and producing a gadget. "I can find out where he is." Ryou pressed a large red button in the centre of the gadget: the screen lit up and in a matter of seconds a map appeared.

"See? He's right there." Ryou pointed to the locator. Komori placed her hands on her hips and went into Mother-Mode.

"And just what have you been doing with Taro that you would put a tracking device on him?" Komori squinted her eyes and clenched her fists.

"Uhh…Well, it all started a while back…"

**Starry Ridge, Sunset,** **多星的山脊，日落 **

"Taro, can't we rest for just a little while?" Tomo whined. It was tempting, but I shook my head.

"We have to keep going up the mountain."

"Taro, we haven't even _reached _a damn mountain yet."

"Exactly. We'll take a short break as soon as we get to the mountain." I grinned. The barren landscape had disappeared about an hour ago and was replaced by another overbearing forest. The last rays of the strange neon sun still peeked over the horizon, and I knew that we would have to either stop or slow down when night fell. My stomach growled awkwardly through the silence and Tomo shook his head.

"You're going to end up killing yourself."

"I'll still end up in the same place anyway, won't I?" I grinned darkly. Tomo chuckled and nodded, but then looked at the path ahead, bewildered.

"What are you looking…at?" I stopped. We were faced with a fork in the path, one branch going left, the other to the right; but that wasn't what we were staring at. A transparent, but still in full color, child sat cross-legged in between the two paths, humming cheerfully to herself. Her hair was pulled back into two thick braids bedecked with vibrant ribbons and she wore a simple white kimono that fell right at her ankles. The child stared up at us innocently and turned her head to the side, curiously watching us. Tomo lifted his hand and was about to wave to her before I caught his hand and pulled it back down.

"You don't know if she's dangerous." I warned. Tomo raised an eyebrow and pointed at the child. "Taro, she's not exactly an Oni."

"I know, but remember what Blithe said: don't talk to _any _creatures you come across."

"But we talked to _her_ and nothing bad happened."

"Uh, actually, if memory serves me right, we were nearly eaten by Oni!"

"Only because you and Blithe were talking really loud."

"LOUD? You think WE were loud? You should have heard yourself!"

"I can't help it if I naturally project my voice!"

"Maybe the next time we're in danger you'll learn to keep your fat yap shut!"

"You're one to talk! You just couldn't keep your mouth closed after Blithe kept telling you to be quiet!"

"She was telling _you_ to be quiet!"

"Yeah! But…! Uh…Taro…?"

"What?"

"…I think that kid just took off with your Shuriken." Tomo pointed down the left fork of the path where the kid stood, waving the Shuriken back and forth like a trophy.

"HEY!" I yelled, running down the path after the kid, who just snickered mischievously and ran even faster.

"Taro! We're not supposed to go left!" Tomo yelled from behind as I tried to catch up.

"I know, but I can't let this kid make off with our only weapon!" I called back. The trees thinned slightly and a few shafts of light shined down onto the lightless forest floor. Ahead I could smell acrid smoke; the child hopped through a wall of tall bushes where a stream of smoke filtered through. I came to a halt and analyzed the wall for a moment; Tomo stopped running and paused to stare up at the bizarre shrubs.

"This has 'trap' written all over it." Tomo inspected.

"Yeah, but I need to get my Shuriken back. If we get stranded without it we're completely screwed." I sighed, parting the bushes, shutting my eyes, and stepping through them. "Woah!"

I fell through the wall and stumbled into something that looked like a campsite. Roughly made tents propped up with long strips of vine and twig were placed about the edges of the site and a roaring bonfire sat in the middle of the camp.

"Where are we?" Tomo asked loudly after he stumbled in; I slapped my hand over his mouth and silently pointed across the clearing. A giant Oni stepped out from a larger tent at the far right side of the camp and sat itself in front of the fire, warming its hands. Tomo's eyes widened and his face paled as he saw the child step out from behind a tent and lay the Shuriken in the exact middle of the camp, right next to the bonfire _and_ giant Oni.

"You _have_ to be kidding." I groaned. The child snickered happily then skipped off into the brush, completely unnoticed by the Oni. Now scores of Oni of all sizes emerged from the tents and sat in front of the fire; a few even began what sounded like an attempt at a campfire song.

"How are we going to get it back?" Tomo whispered as we hid behind one of the tents.

"I have no idea."

"Lovely. So I suppose we'll just go in without a plan as usual?" Tomo popped his knuckles and grinned.

"No. This time we need to make a plan. We just can't barge in on an entire Oni settlement without an idea of what we're doing."

"That hasn't stopped us before."

"Yeah, but this time is different." I insisted. A few more Oni streamed into the campsite bearing a massive cauldron filled with murky brown water. To our horror, behind them they pulled a makeshift cage filled with screaming people. There was a round of cheers as one Oni placed the pot onto the crackling fire. Tomo turned to me expectantly.

"Now that someone else's life is at stake, are you willing to go with our usual plan?" He asked. I covered my face with my hands and nodded slowly, getting to my feet.

"First I have to get to the centre of the campsite and get the Shuriken. And for that I'll need a distraction…" I grinned knowingly at Tomo, who returned the smile two-fold. "Let's do it."

**Café Mew Mew, ****咖啡屋**

"_You mean to say that ALL of this has been going on right under my nose?_" Komori snapped; she was about ready to kill Ryou.

"Uh-huh." Ryou nodded weakly. Komori slumped back in her chair and slapped her forehead. "Man. I feel really stupid."

"Now you know how _I_ felt." Ryou said pointedly.

"And I also know how Taro feels…Poor thing. He must be so lonely." Komori murmured.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that Tomo came back from the dead."

"…."

"Komori?"

"…Don't pull my leg, Ryou."

"I'm serious. Tomo came back from the Spirit World. He's been helping Taro out this entire time." Ryou stated it as if they were simply talking about the weather.

"O-kay. So you're saying that my son is out there somewhere fighting against Yuri and a guy named Jiro who's trying to avenge Ronin?"

"Actually he's probably fighting against the ghosts that they sent after him, but I think you have the basic idea." Ryou smiled. Komori promptly stood. "Then we have to go help him."

"What?"

"You heard me! We're going to help Taro!"

**Starry Ridge, Sunset, ****多星的山脊，日落**

"1…2…3…Go!" I mouthed to Tomo from my position in a tree. He gave me a thumbs-up and cartwheeled into the campsite, doing a bunch of random MC Hammer moves and beat boxing. The Oni stopped and stared dully as he danced; even the humans in the cage stopped screaming long enough to stare at the stupidity.

"Here goes!" I muttered, squeezing my eyes shut, grabbing a long vine hanging off the tree, and launching myself down into the campsite. The Oni didn't even notice a cat-boy flying into the camp on a vine like Robin Hood; they were too enchanted with Tomo's insane beat boxing and rendition of the Running Man; a few even started to sway to the crude rhythm. I jumped from the vine and landed (surprisingly) on my feet right in front of the Shuriken. I secured it in my gloved hand and grinned. "Show time."

"Hematite Shuriken!" I slung the Shuriken at the biggest Oni, hitting him directly in the stomach. A sickening stench seeped from its body and green-colored blood spilled from the sever. The Shuriken didn't stop there: it sliced right through the giant Oni and went directly through the rest of the Oni; they fell like monstrous, bleeding dominoes.

The Shuriken finished its dirty work and swung back into my hand, thickly covered in green blood. The people in the cage screamed ecstatically as Tomo pulled the door to the cage open: turns out that there was only about five people in the cage, one of which being an incredibly shaken Kanaye. The people stood in front of Tomo and me, staring at us in fright, unsure if we were friend or foe. I smiled brightly and waved to them calmly.

"You're all safe now." I grinned. Kanaye stared at me with his famous "WTF?" face and collapsed to the ground in a tired heap.

-

"So what happened to you guys?" Tomo asked after we'd ransacked the Oni's food stores and made a bitter-smelling soup for the captives. I passed a bowl to Kanaye, which he accepted silently, still staring at my ears and tail in confusion. A girl that I recognized as one of Nozomi's friends answered quietly, "We were at school when there was this huge earthquake. Then…well, we found ourselves in this forest. Before we knew it, those monsters had captured us."

"Did you see any other people around here?" I asked hopefully. The girl swallowed and nodded. "There were many more people. They just went off in different directions. When the monsters first captured us, there were ten of us. Now there's only half of that." The girl's voice cracked and she broke down into tears.

"So, Taro," Kanaye started awkwardly, "What's up with the tail?"

"Oh, _this_ tail? Well…let's just say it runs in the family." I winked at Tomo. Kanaye cleared his throat and nodded. "Thanks for saving us." He muttered quietly, taking a long slurp from his bowl.

"Kanaye, where's Nozomi?" I asked. Kanaye stopped and his face paled.

"Kanaye?"

"I don't know. We were having an argument and she ran off in a different direction." He croaked.

"So…you don't know where she is?" Tomo questioned, his voice rising with panic.

"No. She's probably dead by now. Can't say she didn't deserve it." Kanaye snorted. I snatched him by the front of his jacket and shook him like a maraca.

"_Don't you ever say something like that again! I don't ever want to hear you say anything bad about her ever again!_"

"What are you going to do about it, Cat Boy?" Kanaye sneered; I could tell it was just bravado. I drew him closer to my face and made my voice go low and threatening.

"_I'll kill you._" I pointed at the bodies of the Oni as a pleasant reminder of my capabilities. Kanaye didn't respond; I threw him back down onto the cold ground, resisting the urge to spit on him.

-

Author's Corner!

Mwahaha. I couldn't resist the MC Hammer references. "Oh, and by the way: Tomo came back from the dead." Heheheh. Kanaye is such a loser. I want to use my author's authority and smite him! ...But I can't. ...At least not yet. XD

Like usual, it was really fun writing this chapter (is it ever _not _fun?). I think it'd be cool to live a day in this story. But I guess that's just because well, I wrote it. : P It'd still be cools. I really want to see a Vesper! ...And then run away screaming!

Hah. Okay, well, there's much more that I can post here (stupid desire to prevent plotline spoilers...).

AXM, OUT! ((imaginary theme music as she dances insanely in her computer chair before collapsing on the ground in a fit of giggles))

(The next chapter should be out...soon. But I honestly don't know how long the 'soon' is going to be, exactly. Eheh.)


	16. Don't Look Back

**Chapter Sixteen: Don't Look Back, ****不回顾过去**

"_If we do not find anything very pleasant, at least we shall find something new."—Voltaire_

_-_

"…Can you tell me again why you have smoke grenades?" Komori asked. Ryou brought his finger to his lip and shushed her, motioning for her to continue down the foggy path silently. Behind them walked Keiichiro with a massive store of weapons cradled in his arms.

"Right, right. 'Be quiet or we'll get killed'…" Komori mocked under her breath.

"Keiichiro, check the map." Ryou ordered. Keiichiro fumbled through the stack of weaponry and looked down at the glowing screen. "He hasn't moved. They probably settled down somewhere for the night."

Ryou heard Komori whimper slightly as she bit her lip. He placed his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Taro's a smart kid. He can fend for himself."

**Valley of the Ascendant, ****优势的峡谷**

Waiting for the sun to rise virtually tore me apart. Every minute that ticked by was another knife that dug another centimetre into my skin. The seven of us lay on the cold fog-covered ground, staring at what was left of the stars from the Human World in the night sky. I tossed and turned: the cold seeped right into my beige Mew Mew uniform, and for once I actually found myself shivering. Off in the forest surrounding the clearing, frightening groans and screams of the night came, scaring me into shutting my eyes tighter to drive away the horrifying images.

"Maybe we should stay in one of the tents." One of the survivors offered, covering his crying girlfriend with his jacket. The rest of the group sat up, tiredly agreeing.

Inside the tent it was warm, and as I wrapped myself into an animal fur blanket, I felt a brief moment of peace before drifting off into sleep.

**Morning, ****你好**

I was amazed by the irony: the previous night I had been dying waiting for the day, and now that morning had come, I was sorry to see it. _I don't feel like being a hero today…_ I felt bags under my brown eyes and I had to slap myself a few times to wake myself up. Tomo threw off his covers and marched out of bed, trampling everyone else who wasn't awake. "Wake up! Wake up!"

"Five more minutes!" Kanaye pleaded; Tomo kicked him in the head again, screaming, "_Wake up!_"

I made myself throw back the covers and lazily got to my feet. I sighed and parted the tent door, amazed by how dark it still was. "Guys…it's still dark out here!"

"It's always like that in this area, isn't it Ami?" Nozomi's friend said. The girl that had been crying, Ami, nodded noiselessly.

"Great." I muttered, leaving the tent and surveying the campground. Small flickering sparks were the only remnants of the once-great bonfire and plunged the edges of the campsite into darkness. _Hey! …Where did the Oni go?_ The slaughtered bodies of the Oni had vanished into thin air; even the blood that had spilled onto the ground had been cleaned up. You never would have even known that there'd been a massacre there.

"Wow, talk about weird, huh?" Tomo grinned as he pulled back the tent flap and stretched his arms.

"What do you think happened?" I asked him, inspecting the ground where the bodies had lain.

"I guess someone was really hungry." Tomo shrugged.

"You're so crude." I chuckled. "Okay, everybody, come out of the tent! We have a lot of traveling to do today."

Kanaye and the other captives crawled out of the tent, looking up at us like we were rabid dogs. "You _have _to be joking." Kanaye grumbled wryly.

"We're not going anywhere." Ami shook her head, cuddling up to her boyfriend, who nodded. "Especially not after almost getting eaten."

"You mean—you're going to _stay here_?" I asked incredulously, waving around at the campground.

"There's less of a chance of us getting killed if we just stay out of that God-forsaken forest."

"But…! ...Okay. Fine. Come on, Tomo." I turned on my heel and refused to look back at them, beckoning for Tomo to follow. _If they just want to sit around and do nothing while the world falls apart, by all means. Cowards._

**Somewhere…, ****在某处 **

"Just admit that we're completely lost, Ryou!" Komori yelled, placing her hands on her hips.

"No. My inventions have never failed me before." Ryou stuck his nose up in the air and ignored her babbling.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah!"

"Well how about when the Mew Machine was supposed to shut down--?"

"That doesn't count!"

"It's one of your inventions, isn't it?"

"Ryou, just face it: we have no clue where we are." Keiichiro sighed, readjusting the pile of equipment in his arms.

"Well what do you want me to do about it?"

"Why don't you ask for directions from that rock over there?" Komori suggested sardonically.

"Ha ha."

"Wait…Komori, that's not a rock…" Keiichiro said, carefully stepping towards the lump through the fog.

"…What is this thing?" Komori asked, kneeling and gently stroking the creature's bloodstained white fur.

"It looks like a…giant fox." Ryou observed, running his fingers over its beautiful pointed face. "Do you think it's dead?" Komori asked, nostalgia from her experience in Ronin's labyrinth quieting her voice. She put her ear to the fox's snout and listened carefully for an intake of air; a smile passed over her face and she looked up at Keiichiro and Ryou with relief.

"It's still alive!" She announced.

"It looks like it's in critical condition, though." Ryou said, reaching into his backpack for some sterile gauze to wrap the animal's wounds. As soon as his fingertips brushed against a gash in its side, the fox's frightened eyes blinked open.

"Hey there, little fella. You're going to be all right." Ryou cooed as he wound the strips of gauze around the fox.

"I'm not a 'fella'." The fox mumbled weakly; Komori, Keiichiro, and Ryou jumped.

"A talking fox!" Ryou yelped. The fox rolled her eyes and sighed, wincing from the cuts and gashes.

"I'm _not_ a fox. I'm Blithe, a Kyubi no Kitsune." Blithe recited irritably.

"Wow, a talking…Kitsune." Ryou breathed. Blithe let out a good-natured laugh, and then winced.

"That's exactly what the other boy said. You humans; always saying the exact same thing as the other…" Blithe shook her head.

"Other boy?" Komori asked, leaning down towards Blithe and listening intently.

"Yes. There was a boy. We were helping each other until we encountered some Oni. He and his friend ran while I took care of the Oni. It was a little more…difficult than I thought. I must be losing my touch." Blithe tried to stand, but Komori gently pushed her back down.

"What did the boy look like?" Komori urged.

"Well, he was quite peculiar by human standards. He had cat ears, a cat tail, and carried around a shuriken for protection. Quite naïve boy. Fairly polite, though." Blithe reminisced. Ryou's face fell and he looked around at the path; turning his attention to Blithe.

"Blithe, which way did he go?"

Author's Corner!

It's a ...Dun dun DUUNNN...SHORT CHAPTER! Eek! Mwahaha! I just recently got over my Writer's Block, so that's good. I've got everything written up to chapter twenty, although it's going to take a while to get through the editing phase...as usual. Interesting tidbit: Can you guess where I got the name Blithe from? A play titled Blithe Spirit. Of course, there wasn't anyone in the play named Blithe, but it's just such a cool word and I couldn't resist. I did the same for he upcoming OC's names too. It was a living hell trying to piece together my character analysis spiral (complete with pictures) for all the new characters. But I finally did it! I'll try to post some character pics for you guys so you can see (some of the pictures suck, but hey, no one's perfect).

So until whenever I post chapter seventeen! AXM, OUT! ((REAL theme music played by a Vesper with a tuba))


	17. Hatched Plans

**Chapter Seventeen: Hatched Plans**

"_An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered."—G.K. Chesterton _

_-_

The incline of the land had risen to at least thirty degrees; the flora we fought through grew wilder and more jungle-like. Even the strange creatures that inhabited the tree knots and burrows were different from those that had been in the forests and plains: the misty black and white hues of their fur were replaced still making it perilous to run by covering the roots of ancient trees. Under the canopy of trees hardly any ribbons of light slipped through; the 'jungle' was submersed in a permanent darkness and unnatural cold.

"Now Taro," Tomo began as we whacked our way through the moist bracken, "If we come to a fork in the road, we're not going to sit there, argue, and let a ghost kid run off with our only weapon again, are we?"

"No." I sighed.

"Good boy." He patted my head. "What's up with all the fog? You'd think that it'd let up _somewhere_. I think it's actually getting thicker."

"That's not surprising. Fog just naturally happens on mountains." I shrugged, dodging a springy tree limb that almost hit me in the forehead. Ahead, through the sheet of plants and fog, a minuscule clearing could be seen through a slash in the bushes. We paused, looked suspiciously into the clearing, and then turned to each other uncertainly.

"I don't trust clearings." Tomo grunted, crossing his arms.

"I think I see a house over there…" I speculated, parting the bushes and taking a few steps into the clearing. Off in the right corner of the partially shaded area sat an elaborate traditional Japanese home, complete with a pointed shingled roof and sliding beige paper doors. It was extremely old, but still looked as if someone cared for it every day from the fresh coat of red paint on its wooden rafters; I took a few more steps toward the beautiful house.

"Uh…Hello? Is anyone home?" I called tentatively, starting up the creaking steps to the front door.

"What are you doing?" Tomo scolded from the bushes.

"Stop being such a scaredy-cat, Tomo. Look, I don't even think anyone's home--."

A huge crash came from inside the house, followed by a woman's froggy voice shrieking, "ONE!"

I jumped away from the front door and looked back at Tomo frightfully. He gestured wildly for me to 'get the hell away from whatever it was that I was looking at'. Overwhelming curiosity took the wheel and drove me to the front door, compelled me to slide the door open, and step inside; I ignored Tomo's muffled warnings and shut the door behind me. _What… is this place?_

The inside wasn't anything like I had imagined. No festive lanterns hung in the hallway for light, no warmth glowed from a comforting fire, no one seemed to be in the house. There was an overwhelming mouldy odor washed into every inch of the house's dirt-covered walls and deteriorating floors. I turned the corner into what I guessed was the living room: a low oak table sat in the centre of the room and a few ragged, stained pillows lay around the table. Another crash came from the room ahead and a woman's voice shrieked again, "TWO!"

I took a step forward and heard a squelching noise; watery footprints covered the wooden floors. I bent lower to the floor and inspected the water: it had a tinge of crimson in it. Again there was a crash and more screaming, "THREE!" My curiosity sped me forward, closer to the screaming and pealing. Fear built in my throat; the next room was only four more paces ahead. Tortured sobs echoed down the water-shocked halls; the hairs on my neck stood up, but my feet wouldn't let me turn back. I poked my head around the doorframe and swallowed an impulsive scream. A Yuurei stood at the far wall of the kitchen, grabbing elaborate plates from a dish cabinet and casting them onto the floor, counting each time a plate crashed to the floor with a twang. It was a typical Yuurei, except it was drenched from head to toe in murky water and had aquatic plants tangled in its floor-length ebony hair. On the wall closest to me was a man sitting on the floor in a pitiful little ball, sobbing uncontrollably as the Yuurei demolished the plates.

"FOUR!" The Yuurei screeched; the man twitched and covered his head with his arms. I wanted to say something, but what was there to say? _'Hi, I noticed you're being harassed by a Yuurei.'_

The Yuurei turned its nonexistent face towards me and regarded me emotionlessly. After studying me for a few seconds it went right back to throwing plates on the floor and counting as if I weren't there, "FIVE! …SIX!" _Okaaay._ I bent down towards the man and touched his shoulder, but it didn't seem to register. "I don't know what's going on, but I think we'd better get you out of here." I told him, tugging his sleeve and trying to get him to stand; he just kept on sobbing.

"SEVEN! …EIGHT!"

"Um…are you okay?" I asked. The man still didn't respond, he just kept shivering and crying. The Yuurei dropped the last plate with a flourish and screamed as loud as it could, "_NINE!_"

The result was bizarre: as soon as it had stopped counting the Yuurei faded out, rasping the name, "Aoyoma!" The man screamed as if a conflagration was spreading over his entire body and convulsed as he cried louder, trembling like a frightened infant rabbit. In a matter of seconds the kitchen, the man, the broken plates, and house all simply faded away, just like the Yuurei and I was left standing in the middle of an empty, weed-ridden clearing with Tomo glaring at me and snapping his fingers in front of my eyes.

"Wake up!" he growled, slapping me in the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" I rubbed my head.

"What was it _for_? You went crazy on me! You just walked out into the clearing and started talking about this 'house' that wasn't even there and then started talking to someone that I couldn't see! What else was I supposed to do?"

"You mean…you didn't see the house?" I asked, looking around for the house.

"Taro, there never _was_ a house." Tomo sighed. "Look, let's just keep moving. And if you freak out like that again I'm going to have to send you to the Funny Farm after this whole ordeal's over."

**Valley of the Ascendant**

"God, you're pretty heavy for a fox…" Ryou struggled under Blithe's weight as the four stumbled down the path at the fastest speed they could muster.

"I'm _not_ a--."

"Whatever." Ryou grumbled.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay? Those cuts still don't look that good…" Komori worried as she ran her fingers over Blithe's gauze-smothered injuries.

"I'm… beginning to think that I might need some extra help…" Blithe slipped a smile onto her pain-stricken face.

"Ryou, put her down for a minute." Komori muttered, helping Ryou ease Blithe onto the mist-drenched ground.

"Near the Ethereal River is another Kyubi no Kitsune named Sobriety. She's a bit reclusive, but if we can find her she'll be able to heal these injuries. Then I will be able to help you find Taro extremely easily."

"Is it far?" Ryou huffed.

"…A bit." Blithe grinned.

"_Ugh…_"

"Is there anyone else that's closer?" Komori asked, staring off into the mist hopefully.

"No. There are very few mortal creatures in the Spirit Realm, none of which that can even touch on Sobriety's healing abilities." Blithe insisted, letting out a cautious breath.

"Right then." Ryou grumbled, lifting Blithe back into his arms.

**Takamagahara Mountain**

Jiro laughed and hefted the Chalice in his hand, dangling it in front of Yuri's delighted face. She outstretched her palm and chuckled as the heavy metal fell into her hand; she clutched her freshly manicured fingers around it greedily.

"After all the years…" Yuri hissed, stroking the Chalice like a darling pet. Jiro's face still held a smile as he motioned to the orb.

"Did you know that the orb contains Kiyoshi's life force?" Jiro grinned at the weakly pulsating green of the orb.

"No…No, I didn't!" She raised an eyebrow and let out a rich laugh. "Too perfect! Just too perfect!"

"And I have one more surprise for you, my Lady." Jiro smiled, pulling out something from the folds of his cloak.

**Valley of the Ascendant**

The stars timidly rolled across the hazy grey sky after the strange half-formed sun had sunk below the horizon; the vague outlines of a moon could be seen shining amidst the sea of half-alive stars. I stared upward at the sky as Tomo and I went down the wild, winding path leading to the top of the mountain. It was steadily growing colder: a sign that we were at least going upward.

"Blithe made it sound like 'going to the top of the mountain' was just a casual stroll." Tomo grumbled, tucking a sliver of his dark hair behind his ear. I shrugged blankly, too captivated by the stars.

"And not to mention that we have no clue where we're going…" Tomo began to count on his fingers.

"…"

"And we don't know what to do when we get there…"

"…"

"We don't even know if we can trust Blithe…"

"…"

"And I'm tired…"

"…"

"And my feet hurt…"

"…"

"And I'm hungry…"

"…"

"And I'm really cold…"

"…"

"And I'm slee—WAH!" Tomo tripped over something on the ground and landed flat on his pale face.

"And you're stupid." I chuckled, turning away from him and continuing down the path.

"Yeah, yeah…Hey! What the--? Let me go! Hey! LET ME GO--!" Tomo screamed.

"…Tomo?" I called out behind me. He wasn't on the ground anymore…he wasn't even in sight. _Great._ "Tomo!" I called again: the only answer was the clicking from some creature living in the hollow of a tall black tree a few feet away. _What the hell? He was just here!_

"Very funny, Tomo!" I tried again. Again the only response was the clicking from the tree. "All riiight…"

"Tomo?" I repeated; I strayed a few steps from the path and peered into the strange darkness stretched over the thick jungle like the canvas of a painting. "What in the world--?" I murmured to myself, raising my gloved hand to the shadows and cautiously brushing it across the surface. The shadow twitched, shrunk, and divided into itself until a horde of Vespers stood in front of me.

"Woah!" I jumped back as the group of Vespers twitched and convulsed, turning their faces to me with full twitchy attention. One of the twenty or so of them took a few confident steps toward me, making exaggerated motions with its hands.

"Uh…" All the Vesper did was confuse me. _I can't let myself get distracted. I have to find Tomo!_ I tried to sidestep the Vesper, but it blocked my way with its wispy arm, waving its arms around more and more furiously with every motion.

"Look, I can't understand you, okay? Plus Blithe said that I shouldn't be talking to you. Now, if you'll excuse me." I sighed. The Vesper shook its head and pointed to itself. It was obvious that it wasn't going to let me leave until it had said what it wanted to say. It started its wacky pantomime again.

"You…like peanut butter? You…can't ice skate? You…enjoy playing tennis?"

"_Eh! Eh!_" The Vesper struggled to make noises.

"Okay, now we're getting somewhere."

"Yuu kee-onnha!"

"Uh…right."

"_Yuu kee-onnha!!_" The Vesper insisted, pointing into the inner reaches of the forest.

"I still can't understand you."

"Yuu kee-onnha…taayk…Tohh…Moe!" The Vesper hopped up and down, waving its arms around for dramatic effect.

"Something took Tomo?" I asked, looking closely into the forest; I couldn't see anything but trees and bushes.

"Yah! Yah!" The Vesper nodded. I lowered myself to eye level with the Vesper (or what I thought was eye level; it was hard to tell since it didn't have eyes).

"Where is he? Tell me exactly where this thing is."

"_Fohre est! Fohre est! Fohre est!_" The Vesper chanted.

"Right. Into the cold and ominous forest I go." I sighed, parting the crowd of Vespers with a wave of my hand and stepping into the somehow colder air of the inner forest. Something tapped my shoulder; when I turned I saw that it was the Vesper again.

"Ayyyeee…hehhlllppp." The Vesper rasped.

"Cool. Okay, so which way did he go?" I asked the Vesper. It twitched for a few seconds before darting off through the thicket to the left. "Oh…He went left. Great."

Author's Corner!

I'm SO SO SO SO SO SO **_SORRY_** for not updating for an eternity! School has just been such a big freaking distraction, especially theatre practice.

Anyway, do you want to know something interesting? In my original draft of "Samsara" I had Tomo die of tuberculosis. But I can't even describe how stupid it sounded. Seriously: it was so horrible that I wanted to burn it. And also if you're having a little difficulty imagining what a Vesper looks like, just imagine a 'Shadow' from Kingdom Hearts, minus the weird ears and yellow eyes. They're literally just a cameo of a person. This chapter was also based on a Japanese ghost story: **Banchō Sarayashiki** (literally translated to 'The Dish Mansion at Bancho'). I'll go into it more later, but if you want you can go to Wikipedia and check it out. :D

AXM, OUT! ((REAL theme song played by a newly-formed quartet of Vespers playing tubas and ocarinas))


	18. The Ethereal River

**Chapter Eighteen: The Ethereal River,**

"_Death, the last sleep? No, the final awakening." –Walter Scott_

_-  
_

"So…you got a name?" I awkwardly asked the Vesper as it slowly led me through the mist-ridden forest. I could have sworn that with every step I took, the temperature dropped another five degrees.

"Ayyeee diiiiiihhhhhddd..."

"What is it?" I asked. The Vesper quit walking and looked up at me, sort of like a lost puppy.

"Aayyeee…waahhz… 'Tohh…Moe'." It answered sadly, turning its head to the ground and resuming leading the way through the frost-covered forest.

"What do you mean by 'was'?"

"_Nohhht…al…eyev…ahny moor…Vesss…pur…nohw…_"

"So…when you were alive, your name was 'Tomo'?" I asked it, feeling the aches of pity jump around like ping-pong balls in my chest. The Vesper didn't respond: it just nodded its head stolidly.

"What do you have to do to be a Vesper after you ...die?" I questioned again, my voice lower. Again it didn't respond; it just shook its head and pointed to the area ahead silently.

"Woah…" I breathed.

**The Ethereal River, Northern Banks**

"Okay, so where is this 'Sobriety' person?" Ryou grunted as he hefted Blithe onto his shoulder. Blithe wearily lifted her head and sniffed the air frailly.

"She lives in the hollow of an old pine tree somewhere along these banks." She answered quietly. Keiichiro shivered and hugged his coat tighter around him, tossing the bag of weapons onto his shoulder.

"God, can it get any colder?" He complained.

"Don't jinx it." Komori muttered, rubbing her frozen hands together.

"Is that the tree over there?" Ryou asked Blithe with relief, pointing to an ancient pine tree rooted into the spongy ground a few feet away. Blithe grinned and nodded, gesturing for Ryou to put her down.

"I have to go and tell her we're here. She won't trust any of you." Blithe explained before limping towards a jagged crack in the trunk of the pine tree sheltered in the blind of fog.

**The Ethereal River, Southern Banks**

Every inch of the icy river and its banks was frosted in a thick icing of glittery snow; even the trees that limply hung overhead had been blasted with the fury of the eternal winter encompassing the river. My beige boots crunched loudly in the snow as the Vesper beckoned me forward towards the clear purple waters of the river.

"What is this?" I asked the Vesper in a whisper, as if the beauty of the river demanded silence.

"Ehhthhh…eeaarrhh…eeeeh…aaaahhll…Riih…vuurhh…" The Vesper's voice grated through the air harshly. "Yuu kee-onnha…coohhntroohl… riih…vuurhh." It lifted its shadowy arm and pointed upstream.

"So…Where's Tomo, then?"

"Gohhhh…saaah…murrr…Caayyhvvs…" The Vesper trembled at the mention of 'Gossamer Caves'. "Yuu kee-onnha…lyyyvvsss…theeeyr…"

It didn't seem likely to me that an evil entity would live in a place overflowing with such gorgeous scenery, but as Blithe said, nothing in the Spirit Realm was as it seemed.

**The Ethereal River, Northern Banks**

"Blithe! What happened to you?" Sobriety exclaimed, rushing to Blithe's side and forcing her to lie down on a cozy pile of straw in the corner of the roomy dwelling.

"It's a very long story. But if you wouldn't mind, could you do something about these injuries before I get into any of that, senpai?" Blithe asked as she whistled for Ryou, Komori, and Keiichiro to enter. Sobriety's sharp brown eyes analyzed the three with intense scrutiny before she nodded and bade them to sit. In the centre of the dwelling burned a small fire that lit the entire room and spread warmth to every tiny crevice, despite its size. On the walls there were countless shelves carved out of the belly of the tree that supported various glass bottles filled with strange, foul-looking liquids. Sobriety was rather small in comparison to Blithe, but had a commanding, yet comforting, air about her that gave her a motherly countenance. Each of her nine tails was covered in her brown sugar colored fur and two witty almond-brown eyes were set squarely above her sloping muzzle. Underneath her default frown sat the timid existence of a grin. Sobriety got onto her back legs and reached for a cluster of green liquids on the top shelf, shaking her head.

"Now what are Valor and Beholder going to think if they see what I let you get into?" Sobriety scolded teasingly as she bit the cap off one of the bottles and began to slather it over Blithe's injuries. Ryou, Komori, and Keiichiro pinched their noses as the acrid odor from the serum circulated through the burrow.

"Ugh!" Ryou choked on the smell; Sobriety threw her head back and laughed at his expense.

"I'd forgotten how funny humans were! Now how did you come upon these three?" She asked Blithe, massaging the concoction into the stained bandages and chuckling to herself.

**The Ethereal River, Southern Banks**

"How on earth could she possibly…Ugh, get Tomo all the way over here _that_ fast?" I asked no one in particular as I struggled to climb over a mountainous hill that (according to the Vesper) sheltered the Gossamer Caves.

"Faaahhhhsssttt…" The Vesper shrugged, having absolutely no problem climbing the steep incline. I sighed and stared to my right, where the Ethereal River managed to flow upstream over the pinnacle of the hill, which wasn't that far anymore. A loud screech came from the cluster of ice-glazed trees coupled with the flashing of distant red lights.

"What the…?" I muttered, turning to see the vapory outlines of a train slither through the gaps in the foliage on invisible tracks. The Vesper didn't seem to notice the blare of the train's horn and continued nonchalantly up the hill. _…I guess this is what Blithe meant by 'combining the worlds'…Although it's dominantly the Spirit Realm, I guess there are still some remnants of the Human World._ It hadn't completely struck me that we'd been in _both_ the worlds, since the scenery had taken on more Spirit Realm qualities. I shook my head and urged myself to march on and find Tomo and then find a way to get out of this mess.

**The Ethereal River, Northern Banks**

"I told you that you shouldn't associate with the Oni." Sobriety frowned after Blithe finished her story. Sobriety fetched a mouthful of balmy peony petals from a clay pot on one of the lower shelves and attentively sprinkled them over the drying green liquid as she sighed to herself. Komori plucked up the courage to speak.

"Um…I don't mean to rush you, but is this healing going to take long?" She asked abashedly. Sobriety's convictive eyes captured Komori and Sobriety's voice came out in a rasp, "It's best to take more care than less care."

Komori bit her lip and sunk down, hugging her knees to her chest like a scolded child. Blithe sighed and looked up at Sobriety respectfully. "Please don't scold her, senpai. Komori's eager to look for her son; she's just trying to be a good mother." Blithe explained quietly, her voice regaining back its strength as the healing effects of the herbs set in. Sobriety's almond eyes misted over with a sad nostalgia for a moment before she continued dropping the petals onto Blithe's injuries. "I'll try to hurry, then."

**The Ethereal River, Southern Banks**

"You have got to be… kidding me." I grunted, flopping onto the snow-covered ground. At the top of the sixty-degree incline we had the perfect view of the crystal mouths of six separate cave systems yawning wide beginning at the foot of the hill. The caves fitted their namesake: they were constructed completely out of quartz and shimmered alluringly at a hint of light; they were giant mirrors of ice sunk beneath mounds of glittering snow. The Vesper twitched a bit before turning its eyes to the ground, laying itself on the frozen ground, and rolling down the hill at breakneck speed.

"Hey! Wait for me!" I called, flinging myself onto the ground and rolling downhill. I couldn't exactly make top or bottom of anything through the dizzy spinning and churning of snow underneath me, but I had a vague impression that I was about to run into something really hard and—"AGH!" I smashed into a tree trunk veneered in frost, no time to stop myself. The Vesper leaned against the tree's other side, shaking its cameo-like head and convulsing.

"Ugh…" My head reeled when I stood and I had to clutch the tree's slippery white bark to avoid falling. "You know…rolling down the hill wasn't exactly the best idea." I grumbled dizzily to the Vesper, who just shrugged passively.

"Eh! Eh!" The Vesper began its penumbral charades again, motioning to the yawning mouths of the Gossamer Caves.

"Oh great. More charades." I sighed.

"_Eh! Eh!_"

"I _know_ that Tomo's in one of those caves, okay?" I rolled my eyes. The Vesper nodded and started hopping up and down crazily. "I know you can talk. Just _tell_ me which cave I need to--." Before I could finish the Vesper grasped my hand in it's and dragged me towards a smaller cave branching off at the far left of the cave cluster.

**The Ethereal River, Northern Banks**

"All right. You should be as good as new." Sobriety grinned curtly as she and Ryou helped Blithe slowly get to her feet. Her beautiful poker-smile spread across Blithe's face as she stretched her legs without wincing.

"Thank you, senpai." Blithe smiled gratefully. She whipped her head around to Komori and nodded determinedly. "Let's find out where Taro is, shall we?"

Blithe lowered her nose to the ground and sniffed the ground, sticking her nose out of the entrance to the burrow for a scent.

"It's pretty obvious that he hasn't been around here. You're not going to be able to pick up a scent." Ryou sighed, leaning on his elbow lazily.

"Well of _course_ he hasn't been around here. Blithe's sense of smell is superb; she can pick up anything within a ten-mile radius despite any kind of weather. Be patient and she will have his trail." Sobriety lashed out sharply; Ryou turned his eyes to the ground. Blithe took in a long whiff of the air and picked her head up, looking south. "He's at the southern end of the river." She called to Komori happily.

"Let's go!" Komori grinned, stumbling out of the burrow and following Blithe eagerly, motioning for Keiichiro and Ryou to follow.

"I'd better go along just to make sure…" Sobriety mumbled to herself.

Author's Corner!

HA! You probably thought it was going to be forever until I updated again! …Or maybe not. O.o And I said I _wanted_ to burn the old version of the story, but it's actually saved under my "Outtakes". : ) That's where everything that I don't put in my stories goes; it's like a graveyard for stories.

…I wanna play charades with a Vesper! …And a SecuriBot!

AXM, OUT! ((REAL theme music played by Vespers with tubas and SecuriBots with sinth keyboards))


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